How did I, an Onmyoji, become the Lord of Yokai?

"That's rare. I thought you would be very happy, Shimizu."

Ye Zi, who had told him about it, exclaimed "Eh!" She had expected to see Shimizu Asahi with a smug expression, but his calm demeanor completely dashed her hopes.

"Compared to that, I think I should be more concerned about my wedding, which is less than a month away."

"Don't worry, with your father taking care of everything, your wedding will definitely be fine."

"Ah."

The closer the wedding got, the more nervous Shimizu Asahi became. This was a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony, and no matter how calm he was usually, he felt a little nervous at this moment.

However, perhaps to divert his attention, he focused his gaze on the leaves.

"Speaking of which, I should also thank you, Yezi. If it weren't for your help, my wedding with Lingzi wouldn't have been able to be planned so smoothly."

Although Tamura Samurai had experienced many ups and downs, he was still a general and could not handle every little detail. Therefore, if it weren't for Yoko's assistance, their wedding would probably have been even more chaotic.

"It's nothing, it's your and my sister's wedding, it's only natural for me to help." The girl shook her head and smiled, indicating that it was nothing. However, Shimizu Asahi didn't think so. He smiled gently and said, "Even so, you should still thank me."

"Thank you, Yezi."

Sincere and grateful words echoed in the girl's ears. Looking at the boy's bright and sunny smile, for some reason, her heart beat faster, and a blush appeared on her delicate face.

A subtle emotion quietly welled up from the depths of her heart.

But Ye Zi quickly realized what was happening and forcefully suppressed the thought.

What are you thinking, Yezi? This man in front of you will soon become your brother-in-law. If you think about these things now, aren't you betraying your sister?

After taking a deep breath, Ye Zi calmed down with a touch of sadness.

She returned a forced smile without saying a word. Shimizu Asahi blinked, not understanding why the girl's expression had suddenly changed, but not paying too much attention.

Just consider it as being too busy and tired lately.

Just then, he suddenly noticed that six of Ye Zi's ten fingers were bandaged for some reason.

"Ye Zi, what's wrong with you...?"

The boy pointed at his hand, a look of confusion on his face.

"Eh? This...this is something I accidentally injured while practicing...it's nothing serious, don't worry."

Ye Zi suddenly became flustered. She quickly hid her slender hand and hurriedly said that she had injured it during practice, as if she was covering something up.

"practise?"

In fact, Shimizu Asahi didn't really believe this excuse either. If it was just the initial practice, that might be possible, but Yoko was the first place winner in the Imperial Competition, and her martial arts skills were ranked first among all the young people in Yamashiro. How could someone like her get injured from practice?

Come to think of it, when he knocked on the door and came in, Ye Zi's voice sounded a little flustered.

"Um......"

The boy's gaze inadvertently began to wander.

He lightly swept across the girl's boudoir, then quickly searched for useful clues.

Whether it was good luck or something else, he noticed the red line on Ye Zi's table almost immediately.

"This is..."

Shimizu Asahi pointed to the red thread, and Ye Zi, who had been discovered, instinctively tried to hide. However, Shimizu Asahi was still one step ahead of her and grabbed the red thread first.

"The rising sun..."

Before the girl could even utter a cry of surprise, Shimizu Asahi pulled out what was hidden under the white cloth by following the red thread.

What appeared before the boy's eyes was an unfinished... embroidery!

"This is... embroidery?"

Shimizu Asahi looked at Ye Zi with some surprise.

This... Ye Zi, who has always preferred swords and spears to makeup, is actually doing embroidery!?

Is he... dreaming?

Compared to Shimizu Asahi's surprise, the girl who had her recent activities discovered gritted her teeth slightly, a hint of shyness and disappointment on her face.

"This is... something I made for you and your sister..." Chapter 333 Is this fate? The wedding is suspended.

"leaf?"

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Asahi frowned immediately. He subconsciously took the girl's hand and said with some concern, "Why don't you just leave the embroidery to the maid? Why do it yourself?"

"Besides, you don't understand these things... and your hands are like this now..."

The embroidery of Yamato Province originated more than a hundred years ago, rooted in Buddhist embroidery. Over the past century, it has undergone its own improvements and has become a civilization with its own unique cultural characteristics.

However, unlike the embroidery of the ancient kingdoms to the west, the embroidery of Yamato is generally full-coverage, meaning that the size of the embroidery is determined by the size of the fabric used.

Therefore, the embroidery of Yamato Province is generally more exquisite and gorgeous than that of the ancient countries to the west, but the more gorgeous and exquisite it is, the greater the difficulty of embroidery.

The embroidery used by royalty and nobility is basically the result of countless workers' tireless efforts day and night.

Although the fabric used for the leaves was not large, only about the size of two or three palms, it was still a huge challenge for someone who had never done embroidery before.

"But I want to embroider a picture for you and my sister myself."

The girl didn't pull away from the boy's hand; she just pursed her lips and whispered.

Hearing the girl's words, Shimizu Asahi was momentarily stunned.

Looking at the scarred hands and the unfinished embroidery, he felt a pang of heartache for some reason.

“I know you want to give your blessings, but you’ve made yourself all injured like this, and Reiko and I will feel bad about it.”

“We have already appreciated your kindness. Even if you cannot give us the embroidery before our wedding, we will still be very happy.”

"So, let's take it slow from now on and not push ourselves too hard."

Qingshui Chaoyang didn't let Yezi give up, because he knew that even if he told her, she wouldn't listen. Rather than letting her secretly catch up on her studies, he preferred to let her study openly and honestly.

Without a time limit, Ye Zi should have an easier time.

Well... of course, all of this is based on the premise that she is willing and able to slow down.

This girl, who looks very much like her older sister Reiko Shimizu, is also very stubborn.

Hearing the boy's concern and care, Ye Zi was momentarily stunned. This boy, so caring and attentive to her now, looked so much like the boy who rescued her from the island two years ago...

'He still cares about himself.'

This thought swept away her previous dejection, and a happy smile returned to the girl's face.

"Okay, I understand. I'll be more careful."

Seeing the girl's bright smile, Shimizu Asahi felt a little more at ease.

However, just as they finished discussing this topic, the room door was suddenly pulled open.

Tamura Samurai walked in with a grim expression after finishing the morning court session.

He looked at his daughter and son-in-law inside the house and said in a low voice, "Chaoyang, I'm sorry, your wedding with Lingzi... may have to be postponed."

"Put the wedding on hold!?"

"Wait, wait, Father!?"

The sudden words startled the two people in the room. Ye Zi couldn't help but stand up and exclaimed in astonishment and excitement, "What's going on, Father? Why is my sister and Chaoyang's wedding suddenly being canceled?"

"I didn't want to either, but the war was about to begin, and the daimyo specifically ordered me to go to war. I couldn't disobey, so I had no choice but to lead my soldiers to Echigo within a month."

After explaining, Tamura couldn't help but curse under his breath.

He was equally dissatisfied with the war. He had spent four or five months preparing for his daughter and son-in-law's wedding, but now...

Damn it, why did this damned war have to come of all times?!

Then, the middle-aged man sat down in front of Shimizu Asahi and said with great remorse, "I'm sorry, Asahi, I'll have to make you wait a little longer."

"...It's regrettable, but there's nothing we can do about it. Please don't worry about it, Father. Reiko and I can have our wedding anytime. Please focus your attention on the war for now."

After a brief silence, Shimizu Asahi finally exhaled and smiled as he comforted Tamura Samurai.

Although he felt some regret and helplessness, war cannot be stopped by individual will, so what could he do? He could only obediently accept the fact.

but......

"Father, why did the war suddenly start? I've never heard you mention war before."

Not only had I never heard of it, but in the history that Shimizu Asahi knew, the Yamato Kingdom during the reign of Emperor Kōtoku should have been very stable. Although the imperial family was caught between the old forces and the masses who were dissatisfied with the reforms, they never went to war because of mutual suspicion. Even if some people had the intention to start a war, Emperor Kōtoku would quickly discover and stop them.

Therefore, military commanders like Tamura Samurai should have had nothing to do in this era.

But why so suddenly?

"Because this is not the daimyo's order, it is the Emperor's order."

"Emperor?"

"Yes, the Emperor ordered the construction of the Obito-zu and Ban-fu-zu in Echigo Province as a means of attacking other countries and as a defensive measure against their counterattacks."

After a sigh, Tamura Samurai continued, "I heard from Lord Maro that the old forces and those who are dissatisfied with the Emperor's policies are growing stronger, and the Imperial Household is finding it difficult to maintain its power. That is why the Emperor suddenly ordered an attack on another country."

"He wanted to take the opportunity to divert the attention of the old forces and others, and to delay the implementation of the law."

"I see......"

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Asahi also recalled the memories in his mind.

He remembered that his teacher had told him that in the third or fourth year of the Tenman-fu era, Emperor Kōtoku chose to send troops to implement his decrees. He sent soldiers from various regions to Echigo and built the Tōshū-chō and Hōshū-chō within two years. However, even though these two war facilities were built, he did not actually issue a war order. These two facilities were not actually used until six years after his death.

In other words, this was nothing more than a delaying tactic under the guise of war; the soldiers sent there were simply changing locations to continue their training and would not be in any danger whatsoever.

After understanding the cause, effect, and future trend of this order, Shimizu Asahi breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In any case, Tamura Samurai will no longer face the crisis of death.

However, even though he knew there would be no danger in this war, he still had to put on a show.

"Father, please take care of your safety on this expedition. I will prepare some talismans for you before you go, which may come in handy in critical moments."

"Okay, thank you for your help." Chapter 331, Section 334: Morning Sun, Lingzi, and Yezi are in your care.