Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

As he unloaded the truck, Kotaro Muneko said he never expected that the family they had just met was actually the Oda Nobunaga family. Oda Nobunaga didn't have any children yet, so the person who had just called him "father" could only be his adopted daughter.

The adopted daughter is Shichibei's fiancée.

This was arranged by Shichibei's adoptive father before he died, and Kotaro, having grown up in Kawamura-ya, naturally knew about it. Now, his hands and mouth were constantly moving as he reminisced with Shichibei about the little girl's appearance from earlier.

There's really nothing to reminisce about. Even Shichibei, who was just thinking about the soft, big older sister, is still remembered quite clearly. She was just a petite little girl.

Hopefully, with a few more years, we can succeed.

He waved his hand, signaling Kotaro to stop thinking about it and quickly push the cart back to the thatched hut. Shichibei also finished tidying up the account books and was waiting for Aji to bring him and Kinoshita Hidenaga their meals.

Ando Morinari still needs some time to persuade the other two families. For now, they've only reached an agreement on the basic terms; he'll likely need to meet with representatives from the other two families later. However, this matter shouldn't require Shichibei to go to Mino again. After all, it should be Hideyoshi, the governor of West Mino, who is in charge.

I still don't understand why Nobunaga wanted us to do this.

Shichibei is truly not cut out for diplomacy or strategy. If he had the skills of a "strategist," he would have made a fortune long ago just by talking. Look at Li Shiqi, who didn't emerge from seclusion until he was over sixty, and within a few years he became the Lord of Guangye.

He died a rather gruesome death, boiled alive.

After waiting for several days at Komakiyama, Nobunaga did not consult Shichibei again about Ando Morishige's defection, but he informed Shichibei of two important matters.

First, Shichibei is listed as a "direct senshu" (a high-ranking official). On New Year's Day, remember to bring a tachi (a type of katana) to kowtow to Nobunaga and wish him a Happy New Year.

Secondly, the marriage agreement between Oda and Matsudaira needed to be finalized as soon as possible. Therefore, after the annual tribute was paid, Nobunaga decided to send the eight-year-old Princess Tokuhime to Okazaki Castle after New Year's Day the following year. Shichibei provided one hundred horses to escort the dowry.

Upon hearing this decree, the family was overjoyed. Shichibei became Nobunaga's direct retainer, finally fulfilling his true status as the governor of Kaito District. Although this governorship was only half a governorship, it was still a governorship.

If you call me deputy director in front of the section chief, I won't mind. But if you still call me deputy director when we're alone together, then I'm going to have a serious talk with you.

I am the head of the Kawamura family, with 380 kan. I have 15 riders from my household and 20 riders from my own forces. If I can gather the landowners and military foot soldiers from the village, I can easily assemble a small reserve force of 300 men.

In the tenth year of Yonglu, the first month of the year is Zhengdan.

Although he was ranked last, Shichibei was still able to enter the Omakiyama Castle Palace's main hall, where he joined the Oda clan's senior retainers in offering New Year's greetings to Nobunaga and presenting him with his Otachi sword.

It's not expensive, only worth five strings of cash.

Sitting to the side, Hideyoshi winked at Shichibei, saying, "I came in last year, and you came in this year. We both have a bright future."

Just by looking at his shiny bald head, you could tell he wasn't up to any good. But Shichibei didn't care; with Hideyoshi's current status and position, he couldn't use any tricks on them anyway.

Even though you are seated one seat ahead of me in the meeting, you are not sitting in the very center.

Nobunaga wasn't entirely unconcerned with formalities; Shichibei had no idea what happened with scattering incense ash on his father's shrine. If given the chance, he could ask Sakuma Nobumori, who was certainly present at the time. But now, Nobunaga was dressed formally, his hair tied up and wearing a crown, receiving the homage of his senior retainers and powerful figures with a dignified air.

Moreover, it was a formal ceremony where each person paid their respects individually, not a simple ritual where everyone kowtowed to him and shouted "May your life be long and prosperous." Instead, Hayashi Hidesada and Sakuma Nobumori sat on either side of Nobunaga, calling out each person's name and offering New Year's greetings. Nobunaga would then shout "Congratulations to you!" The entire process took more than an hour.

Unfortunately, Shichibei was the last one, and his calves ached from kneeling for so long. In "Kagemusha," the servants and pageboys who knew the person in front of them was a shadow warrior all sat cross-legged in a relaxed manner. Only when Tatsuya Nakadai, playing the shadow warrior, exuded the aura of his late lord, Takeda Shingen, did they involuntarily kneel up.

The Japanese also know that kneeling so formally is tiring; they are not really born loving to kneel.

After finally getting through the formalities, everyone offered their congratulations to Nobunaga one last time, and then Nobunaga announced that he would treat everyone to a meal. This time it was a more formal affair, with five tables set up, featuring fish, meat, vegetables, and desserts at the end.

While secretly rubbing his calves, Shichibei didn't forget to eat. If he'd known being a high-ranking official would lead to this, he'd rather not have it at all. But thinking about the other side, even if someone became prime minister, before the Tang Dynasty they could sit and discuss matters, but nowadays they'd have to stand and answer the emperor. The emperor might be generous enough to offer a seat, but you'd only get half a buttock to sit on.

Being an official is truly painful; you're on duty all day long, getting up at two or three in the morning to stand for the entire morning. Of course, it's still better than kneeling with a servant for a whole morning.

Shichibei was full of complaints, but Hideyoshi was quite cheerful. He stayed in Sunomata every day, probably not getting much to eat, and stuffed his mouth full.

"Is it really that delicious?" Shichibei put down his chopsticks and picked up his wine dish.

"It's delicious." Hideyoshi quickly raised his wine dish as well. There was no need to clink glasses; a simple gesture was enough.

In Japan at that time, even if Nobunaga finished drinking from a single sake dish, he wouldn't wipe it clean before passing it down to his retainers. Eight people shared one sake dish, so unless you were the second person to drink from it, you'd inevitably be kissing the person before you. What later generations considered unhygienic, was, in those days, a sign of great affection, trust, and intimacy.

You are not a senior retainer or general of the Oda clan, so you are not qualified to use the same wine dish as Nobunaga.

Anyway, Shichibei and Hideyoshi aren't qualified right now, which is a good thing, especially for Shichibei. The main problem is the unease; he can't get over it in his mind.

Furthermore, regarding Japanese tea ceremony, if it's one-on-one, that's fine, but if it's one-to-many, with three to five people watching or tasting a single cup of tea, Shichibei would have to avoid it. After all, not everyone can be like Ishida Mitsunari, who could calmly drink tea even after seeing a drop of pus fall into Otani Yoshitsugu's teacup from his face.

For this cup of tea, Yoshitsugu Otani sold his life to Mitsunari Ishida. Knowing it was impossible, he still did it, and in the end, they truly "met again after each other's departure."

"Didn't Ningning prepare any New Year's dishes?" Before coming here, Shichibei's younger sisters had prepared a large table of New Year's dishes, and they even made a lot of rice cakes.

"She was pregnant, so she didn't prepare much." Hideyoshi's answer surprised Shichibei.

Nene and Hideyoshi likely had no children. If Nene had a legitimate son, the Toyotomi dynasty would have ruled for two or three hundred years. In the future, the characters in "Prince, Prince, Gomazen" won't be condemning the traitors of Bando, but rather the traitors of Osaka.

Moreover, if the child is born now, by the time of the Battle of Sekigahara, the child will be over thirty years old, in the prime of life, and who would dare to cause trouble?

The Owari faction's military commanders would certainly unite around this eldest son, potentially sparking a civil war with the Omi faction's military commanders. This is contingent on the Omi faction also being able to install a proper, adult Toyotomi lord.

If in the end there's just one more Hideyori, then internal strife won't even break out; the Omi faction's military commanders aren't exactly fools. An adult monarch can gamble and turn a small fortune into a huge one. A child? A child is utterly useless.

"No, you..." Shichibei didn't mean anything by it, he just wanted to give a reminder.

Brother, you're stationed in Sunomata, and Nene is being held hostage in Komakiyama. While it's true that saying this might be seen as trying to sow discord within someone's family, there are some things to consider, aren't there?

Based on historical experience, both Hideyoshi and his brother Hidenaga seem to have some issues. If Hideyoshi's actions were due to damage during wartime, what about Hidenaga's?

It's highly likely that it was due to bad genes; even Hideyoshi, who was uninjured, only left behind two daughters. Hideyoshi had over thirty named concubines and probably slept with hundreds of maids, yet only Hideyori survived.

If you say Hideyoshi hit the target with one shot, nobody would believe it.

"Hahaha, what are you thinking?" Hideyoshi turned around and started arguing with Shichibei.

When Hideyoshi was pacifying the western Mino region, he stayed at the castle for a while, and then Shichibei went to Mino. It took almost a month for him to go back and forth like that, otherwise Nobunaga wouldn't have needed to hand over the annual tribute of Kaito District to Sakai Masahiro.

In other words, Hideyoshi stayed at Komakiyama Castle for a month, and now Nene is more than three months pregnant and her pregnancy is finally starting to show. Counting the days, it must have been around that time. Back then, Hideyoshi was at home every day; by any measure, it was his.

"Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations..." Of course, I'd congratulate him. How could Shichibei not congratulate him?

If you could have a son right now, I'd definitely bet on him. To be honest, protecting Nobunaga is the best option, but if Nobunaga really falls from grace, then we'll have to find another family. Rather than looking for someone else, it's better to find this kid from the core samurai group of Owari.

Being both the eldest son and the heir apparent, with Nobunaga passing away and Hideyoshi ascending the throne, this child is guaranteed to be the one all the samurai of Owari will pledge allegiance to. Then, by following Hideyoshi in pacifying the Hojo and subduing the Oshu, he'll have achieved military merit, secured a loyal following, and his succession to the throne will be a smooth ride.

It's even possible that because his legitimate son's succession was secure, Hideyoshi wouldn't need to wage war in Korea. After all, with his own succession secured, there was no need to shift the focus of his problems to Korea.

"Hahahaha." Hideyoshi laughed heartily, his sparse "hair" trembling with the laughter of his facial muscles.

It was clearly Ningning who tied his hair into that braid, which was even oiled and was neatly styled, shining as brightly as his forehead.

After the New Year's dinner ended and everyone dispersed, Shichibei rode home. His main family was in Tsushima, so there was little to celebrate, and besides, the shops weren't open. He quickly checked that the shops were empty and quiet, then hurried back to Tsushima. Escorting Princess Tokuhime to Okazaki in Mikawa would take some time; there was no need to use a horse now.

Halfway there, Shichibei was still thinking about Nene's pregnancy. Did such a child actually exist in history?

Should I send some baby clothes or something now? After thinking about it for a while, I felt it wasn't necessary. We don't even know if we can keep the baby yet; if we lose it, everything will have been for nothing.

If we manage to keep her safe, given our relationship with the Kinoshita family, it wouldn't be a problem to send her some favors after the baby is born. Right now, Aji is living at Hideyoshi's house, and Hidenaga has been sent to guard Sunomata. As Shichibei's sister, Aji can stay with Nene to prevent any accidents from happening.

Who knows, this child's wet nurse might be Aci.

Thinking and planning all the way, Shichibei even fantasized that if he got married and had a son in a few years, the son could be sent to Nene's legitimate son as a concubine. Whether they ended up sleeping together or not, at least the wealth of the Kawamura family would be preserved, and it might even rise to a higher level.

They arrived at Tsushima all the way with smiles on their faces, but Shichibei's smile froze, and everyone thought he had been blown away by the wind. Ai and Inase Yoshinari were busy bringing hot water and kettles.

Japan also has those copper and ceramic hand warmers made by placing hot water or charcoal inside. They were popular in the Edo period and still retain their original form today. Especially in Owari, a region famous for its ceramics, these ceramic hand warmers are quite popular.

Holding up the hand warmer, Shichibei drank some hot tea and didn't feel too cold. The sweat from riding a horse for ten or twenty kilometers was enough to keep you warm.

"Hey, you two?" Shichibei suddenly realized that they had been married for seven or eight months, and they were seventeen or eighteen years old, full of youthful vigor.

Why isn't there any sound?

"..." Inase Yoshinari covered his face and walked away. Ai didn't say anything, but handed Shichibei a piece of miso-grilled mochi.

“This is a serious matter. If things don’t go well, this child can become the legitimate son of the Kawamura family.” Shichibei genuinely felt that this was a very serious matter.

"How about I go pray tomorrow?" Ai was familiar with Shichibei after all, and wasn't so shy.

"The Ox-Headed Heavenly King? That's the God of Medicine, it probably won't work."

"That's all." Ayi was quite the bachelor; who could be sure about this kind of thing?

"Oh dear, I get scolded for asking serious questions." Shichibei lay down on the tatami mat, leaning against the fire pit. Just as he was dozing off, someone knocked on the door of Kawamura-ya. "It's the New Year, even horse-riding shops aren't open, unless another shogun is assassinated in Kyoto, then it's fine if you come to borrow a horse."

Inase Yoshinari, who had just left with his face covered, ran to open the door. It was a man dressed as a farmer, but these days even a man with fifty kan (a unit of currency) would work in the fields, looking as simple as a farmer, so it was hard to be completely sure.

Inase Yoshinari said that he would not lend horses for the New Year, and the farmer quickly waved his hand and asked if this was the official residence of Lord Shichibei of Daikawa Village, Kaito District.

Hmm? Yes, it's where the acting official is located.

Having overheard a few words, Shichibei sat up, and the farmer was led to him. "To make a long story short, what brings you here on New Year's Day?"

This is a serious matter, of course. A murder has occurred. We request that Your Excellency intervene and handle this matter.

73. A child beat another child to death.

Good guy!

Killing someone on the first day of the Lunar New Year—what kind of deep-seated hatred could that be?

Quickly call them in and tell us what kind of case it is. Is it a robbery-murder? A crime of passion? A revenge killing? These all have different meanings. If there are many criminals, then Shichibei will have to beat the drums and gongs, call all his men and servants, and go to arrest them with swords, guns, bows and arrows.

If it's a crime of passion or something like that, then Shichibei can handle it, and just bring two other people along. After all, a crime of passion usually involves only one or two people, and catching the adulterer is usually enough to settle the matter.

We've caught the culprit...

Huh? The farmer in front of me didn't seem to be boasting at all. Instead, he said he had already arrested the culprit on the spot and locked him up in the woodshed of his farmhouse. That's why he came to the prefectural magistrate to try to determine the truth.

There was no other way; it was pitch black, and the wind was blowing, so he had to carry a lantern to investigate. If they hadn't come knocking, Shichibei could have pretended not to know. But now that they had, he had to handle it, and handle it properly.

A clean government and harmonious society are still desirable.

Shichibei rode his horse, and Inase Yoshinari held up a lantern. Nanbu Sanenaga, who was clearly old and had loose teeth, rushed over from his house behind Kawamura's house upon hearing that someone had died, wearing a cloak. He kept muttering that he was too old to sleep much, and that while others needed to sleep at night, he didn't. Then he took Shichibei's horse.

This old man was no pushover either. Shichibei didn't care anyway, and casually brought along one of Shinji's retainers. It wasn't that he thought there weren't enough people, but none of the three had the habit of carrying swords. Shinji's retainer, on the other hand, pretended to carry a sword every day to show off his samurai identity.

Just in time, we needed two men with swords to bolster our presence. Shichibei was, after all, a semi-mayor, so he needed a driver, secretary, and lackeys when he went out.

The village is not far from Tsushima, right next to Jinguji Temple outside Tsushima Taisha Shrine. At this moment, there are many torches in the village, and a bonfire is burning, as if they are all waiting for Shichibei.

"Call the victims, the perpetrators, the witnesses, and the murderers—all of them!" Shichibei sat down directly in the farmhouse of the local magistrate. Sure enough, that farmer was the magistrate; no wonder he dared to deal with officials.

The case is very clear and there are no doubts. The victim was a five-and-a-half-year-old boy who died from being beaten to death.

The perpetrator was a seven-and-a-half-year-old boy who was caught on the spot; he had no chance of escaping.

The reason for this was that everyone went to Jinguji Temple this morning to pray for good fortune in the New Year. In those days, there weren't many entertainment activities, and people rarely even had the opportunity to leave their villages and communities. In addition, the people at that time were quite superstitious about gods and Buddhas, so going to temples and communities to worship was an important New Year's activity.

The perpetrator and the victim were strangers, and didn't even go the same way. The victim's parents were visiting Jinguji Temple, and the victim was running around in the temple's open space when, somehow, he found a coin on the ground.

Just as the victim was about to pick it up, the perpetrator ran up from behind and tried to snatch the coin. He claimed he saw it first and it should belong to him. The victim, of course, wouldn't agree; he had it in his hand, why should he give it to the perpetrator?

If they knew each other's kids, they might buy a cake, share it, and happily go home.