3 days later——
Edo, Yoshiwara.
"Mashima-kun, it's almost time for the literary test results to be announced." Uesugi said to Ogata who was standing next to her.
"Yeah." Ogata looked up at the position of the moon above his head and nodded, "It's almost time. I should also leave to see if I have passed the written test."
I took part in the literary examination called "Imperial Examination" - this was three days ago.
Long before the examination began, the government announced that the results would be released at 8 p.m., three days after the examination.
At that time, the list of those who have passed the written test will be posted on a large wooden board.
In addition to the names of those who passed the exam, the list will also list the names of the top 10 people who ranked in the top 10 in the exam.
The place where the results were announced happened to be very close to Yoshiwara, right on the Nihon Dam.
The government probably took into consideration that when the results were announced there would be a large number of people coming to see whether they had passed the examination or just to join in the fun, so in order to avoid crowds, they set the announcement location on the relatively open Japanese embankment.
Early this morning, government officials had already erected a large wooden sign on an open space not far from Yoshiwara.
It was almost time for the results to be announced. Many people who were participating in the "Imperial Examination" or simply wanted to join in the fun had already gathered in front of the big wooden sign.
They were all waiting for the list with the names of those who passed and the names of the top 10 people to be posted.
Ogata had already met with Shirobei in advance and asked for leave from him - asking Shirobei to allow him to leave Yoshiwara temporarily and go to the place where the results were announced to see if his name was on the list.
Shirobei naturally agreed to this small request from Ogata, who had previously made great contributions to Yoshiwara.
Because the place where the results were announced was relatively close to Yoshiwara, Ogata was not in a hurry to leave and continued to carry out his task for the night: standing guard in the front half of Nakanomachi.
Ueyu was just leading a few colleagues on patrol around Yoshiwara as usual.
After returning to the front half of Naka-no-Machi, I saw Ogata who had not yet set out, so I came over to talk to him and relax my feet which were a little sore from patrolling around Yoshiwara several times.
"I don't know if it's because everyone is out to check the rankings or to join in the fun, but it feels like there are a lot fewer people coming to Yoshiwara tonight." Uesugi said with a wry smile.
"Isn't this just right?" Ogata shrugged and said in a half-joking tone, "If fewer people come to Yoshiwara, the pressure on us to patrol and stand guard will also be less."
After saying that, Ogata looked up at the moon above his head again.
"…It should be time now, Guasheng. I'll be leaving first. I'll be back soon."
"Yeah." Ueyoshi nodded vigorously. "See you later then. I'll have to continue patrolling Yoshiwara soon. Don't be nervous! I think you can definitely pass the written test!"
"I'm not nervous..." Ogata waved at Uesugi with a wry smile, said goodbye to Uesugi, and strode out of Yoshiwara.
As they got further away from Yoshiwara, Oba felt his heartbeat quicken due to a little nervousness.
What Ogata had just said to Ueoka that “he wasn’t nervous” was actually a lie.
Although he was confident that he could pass the written test, Ogata was still a little nervous.
I was worried, “What if I don’t pass the written test?”
If I fail the written test, not only will I lose face, but I will also have trouble explaining to Hasegawa...
With a little worry in his heart, Ogata finally arrived at the place where the results were announced.
At the end of the field of vision, there is a large signboard made up of three signboards.
At this time, several large pieces of paper were posted on this big sign.
Because the distance was quite far, Ogata couldn't see clearly what was written on the big piece of paper. He could only see dense black dots.
Perhaps because Ogata arrived relatively early, there were not many people gathered in front of the list at this time.
Aiming at the "weakest" spot in the crowd, Ogata walked straight towards it.
As he approached the crowd gathered in front of the list, Ogata gradually heard their conversations.
"Good! My name is on it!"
"Oh... That's great..."
"Fortunately, I never forgot to study Chinese."
There were people who were glad to have passed the written test, and there were also people who cried out in grief or anger because they did not see their names on the list.
"Hey! Why isn't my name on it?"
"Give me an explanation! Why don't I see my name!"
Standing around the signboard were nearly 20 fully armed officers.
There are all kinds of lanterns for lighting, such as shimataka, jute, and so on.
In addition to protecting the signboard with the list of those who passed the written test from being destroyed, these officers were also responsible for dealing with the group of people who were causing trouble because they did not see their names on the list.
When they asked, “Why is my name not on the list?”, they all answered, “This list was decided by the examiners.”
If someone is dissatisfied and tends to cause trouble, use a polite tone to "remind" them not to cause trouble.
After hearing the "reminder" from the officer, almost all the emotional people calmed down.
After all, only a very few people would have the courage and ability to provoke officials in the ruling center of the shogunate.
In addition to the cheers of those who were glad to have passed the written test, and the roars of dissatisfaction and anger because their names did not appear on the list, there were other voices as well.
"Hey, who's the top scorer in the essay test? Have you heard of him?"
“Never heard of it.”
"Is he a foreigner? I've lived in Edo for so many years, and I've never heard of this person."
"If it's a ronin from outside the area, it will be fun. I heard that many hatamoto and gokenin participated in this 'Gozen Trial'. As a hatamoto and gokenin, you can't even beat a ronin from outside the area, hehe."
"I'm so envious. The guy who gets first place gets 100 taels of gold. Such a large sum of money is enough for me to live a life without worries about food and clothing for several years."
…
There were quite a few people discussing the top spot in the written test.
After getting close enough to clearly see the words on the list, Obi stopped.
Ogata's height, which was far above the average, came in handy again at this moment.
You don't even need to stand on tiptoe, just look up and see things normally.
Having just heard a lot of people discussing the top scorer in the literary examination, Ogata couldn't help but feel a little curious about this mysterious top scorer in the literary examination.
The list, made up of several large pieces of white paper, has 10 names on the far left.
On the far left of these 10 names, there are 10 numbers from one to ten from top to bottom.
To the right of these 10 names are hundreds of other names.
Even without anyone introducing them, Ogata could tell at a glance that the 10 names on the far left of the list were the top 10 in this written test.
The hundreds of names listed to the right of these 10 names are the people other than the top 10 who passed the literary test and can take the following martial arts test.
It would take an unknown amount of time to find the name "Mashima Goro" from these hundreds of names, so Ogata planned to first take a look at who was the top winner of the literary test that everyone was talking about.
Ogata slowly moved his gaze to the top 10 list on the far left of the list.
Then...
Ogata's expression froze.
Because after turning his attention to the list of the top 10, Ogata suddenly saw that next to the number "one" was a name that was extremely familiar to Ogata during this period.
Majima Goro.
Next to the number "one", which represents the first place in the literary examination, the name "Mashima Goro" is written.
…
…
Three days ago, when the written test officially began, Takigawa was briefly flustered because of a strange question on the test paper, but after calming down, he seemed to be assisted by God and wrote the most satisfying article of his life.
After the written test, Takigawa was eager to write down the essay he had written at the time, and then gave it to a friend with whom he had a good relationship and was quite talented to circulate.
Everyone who read Takigawa's article couldn't help but express admiration and praise.
In addition to giving it to his friends to circulate, Takigawa also gave it to his master, Shunsui Aioi, to read.
Shunsui Aiei is a well-known sinologist in Edo. He is 58 years old this year.
Due to his advanced age and lack of energy, he also suffered a serious illness some time ago, which resulted in him resting at home for some time.
While concentrating on studying Chinese, he was also recuperating from a serious illness.
In order to get Aioi Shunsui's evaluation, Takigawa went to the house where Aioi Shunsui lived and personally handed his article to Aioi Shunsui.
Xiangsheng Chunshui readily agreed to this small request from his apprentice.
After reading it carefully, Aioi Shun|sui gave a very high evaluation of Takigawa's article, and even directly said "He is worthy of being one of my most proud disciples."
After receiving high praise from his master, Takigawa was determined to win the first place in the literary examination.
On the night when the results of the literary examination were announced, Takigawa and his friends who were also determined to show their talents in the "Gozen Examination" gathered in a high-end teahouse.
There were two reasons why they all gathered in this high-end teahouse for a banquet instead of checking to see if their names were on the list.
On the one hand, it is because they are all children of the bannermen and they disdain to do things like "personally check to see if their names are on the list."
Another reason is that they all firmly believe that with their level, they can easily pass the written test.
Takigawa had just sent one of his servants to check the list.
The servant sent by Takigawa was not only smart and had an amazing memory, but also very fast on his feet, so it was most appropriate to send him to check the list.
Judging from the time, Takigawa's servant who was responsible for checking the list should be back soon.
Takigawa and his friends were having a feast while waiting for his servant who had gone to check the list to return.
At the banquet, Takigawa's friends kept congratulating him.
Everyone present had read Takigawa's article and they all praised it highly.
Everyone thought that with the level of Takigawa's writing, even if he couldn't take first place in the written test, he would definitely have no problem getting into the top 10.
Although Takigawa remained calm and composed in response to his friends' congratulations, he was actually very proud and was smiling from ear to ear.
In order to maintain his demeanor, he pretended to be calm and seemed to be indifferent to fame, wealth and power.
"Takigawa, congratulations. Even if you are not the first in the written test, you must be in the top 10." The young man sitting next to Takigawa personally poured wine for Takigawa and congratulated him sincerely.
"Hahaha." Takigawa said to the young man beside him in a familiar tone, "Uesaka, isn't it the same for you? With your ability, it must be easy for you to get into the top 10 of the literary exam."
The young man sitting next to Takigawa is called Uesaka Satoshi.
Uesaka was the one with the best family background among all the people present - he was born into the Uesaka family, which had a family salary of 5,000 koku.
In terms of rank, he is much higher than Takigawa, whose family salary is only 3,000 koku.
Takigawa and Uesaka are very good friends because of their similar personalities and ideas, and they can talk about anything.
Of course, there is also a bit of utilitarianism in Takigawa's friendship with Uesaka - Uesaka's uncle is one of the four young nobles of the shogunate: Yoshimoto Suzeemon.
Making friends with Uesaka will gain more political resources - this is one of the reasons why Takigawa is on good terms with Uesaka.
After Uesaka poured him a glass of wine, Takigawa also politely poured Uesaka a glass of wine in return.
"Takigawa. If you become successful in the future, don't forget us." Uesaka said this in a half-joking tone.
"Hahaha." Takigawa laughed, and then changed his tone to a half-joking one, "I will return this sentence to you intact. Uesaka, if you become successful in the future, don't forget us."
Takigawa's words made everyone in the audience laugh.
Uesaka also laughed.
After taking a sip of the wine poured by Takigawa, Uesaka let out a long sigh: "Takigawa, if you can successfully catch the eye of Lord Elder with this 'Imperial Trial', then you may really be able to rise to prominence."
"If I become successful, it won't be a luxury to redeem Feng Ling Taifu and marry her."
Takigawa fell in love with Furin-tayu of Yoshiwara at first sight - this was no secret among everyone present.
Everyone present knew that the reason why the usually arrogant Takigawa went to Yoshiwara to teach a group of prostitutes to read and write was purely so that he could see his favorite Furin no Taifu a few more times.
Hearing what Uesaka said, Takigawa smiled slightly:
"Marrying Fuu Ling Taifu is so far-fetched that I dare not even think about it."
Although Takigawa said this on the surface and maintained a calm appearance, in fact, Takigawa's heart was already in turmoil.
Uesaka's words just now reminded Takigawa.
This made Takigawa realize that if he could gain the appreciation of Matsudaira Sadanobu and become successful in the future, he would not only gain fame, power, and wealth, and have the opportunity to go down in history, but also have the opportunity to embrace Furin-tayu.
When he thought of this, Takigawa couldn't help but start fantasizing about the scene in the future when he would become successful and have intimacy with the usually unattainable Furin-no-Taiko.
While imagining these scenes, a strange smile that was difficult to describe in words appeared involuntarily on Takigawa's face.
Boom boom boom.
Just then, footsteps were heard outside the room approaching.
The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and a loud shout followed the footsteps:
"Lord Takigawa! I'm back!"
Seeing that it was Takigawa's servant who went to check the list and came back, everyone present perked up.
Takigawa is no exception.
After quickly putting down the wine glass in his hand, Takigawa straightened his clothes and said loudly:
"Come in!"
After obtaining Takigawa's permission to enter, his servant quickly opened the door and walked quickly into the room.
There were beads of sweat on his face and he was panting. You could tell at a glance that he had just run back from a frenzy.
"How was it?" Someone present asked Takigawa's servant first, "Who was the first in the essay test? Was it Takigawa-kun?"
Seeing that someone asked this question for him, Takigawa smiled with satisfaction.
After all, if he asked this kind of question, it would seem that he cared a lot about fame, wealth and power, making him look very ungraceful.
Upon hearing this question, Takigawa's servant looked embarrassed.
Looking at the servant with a strange expression, Takigawa suddenly had a bad feeling...
"...The first place in the essay test...is not Takigawa-sama."
After hesitating for a long time, Takigawa's servant gritted his teeth and said this.
As soon as the servant finished speaking, the expression on Takigawa's face froze.
Not only Takigawa, the expressions of everyone present changed slightly.
"Then where does Takigawa-kun rank?" Uesaka asked with a frown.
The question raised by Uesaka once again made Takigawa's servant look embarrassed.
After hesitating for a while, the servant said again with difficulty:
"The top 10... doesn't even include Lord Takigawa's name..."
At this moment, Takigawa's expression and face changed again.
"Who's the first place in the essay test?" Uesaka asked anxiously.
"It's a man named Majima Goro..."
As soon as the servant finished speaking, Takigawa's face was immediately filled with shock.
There was a look of deep astonishment in his eyes, and then his face turned red and gradually turned pale.
The flesh on his face was trembling slightly, distorting his originally handsome features, making him look extremely ugly and scary.
At this moment, the air in the room was filled with an increasingly awkward atmosphere.
Everyone looked at each other.
No one knows what to say or do now...
…
…
"Hey, you know what?"
"Know what?"
"That Majima Goro won first place in the 'Gozen Test' literary exam!"
"Mashima Goro? Oh! He's the guy who chased away the troublesome fire thief Kai, right?"
"Is this true... That guy is not only good at swordsmanship, but also good at Chinese studies..."
"Why on earth did that guy come to our Shirobei Club? With his swordsmanship and Chinese studies, he should be able to support himself by opening a sword hall or a private school, right?"
"Maybe they think it's too much trouble. How can running a sword hall or a private school be as easy as working here at the Shirobei Club?"
"And don't make it sound like there's money to be made in opening a sword school or a private school. Private schools might be a little better, but most people who open sword schools lose everything. There aren't many people who are determined to make progress and work hard at sword training these days."
…
Conversations similar to this one kept coming out from the mouths of the officials at the Shirobei Club.
Because the place where the results of the literary examination were announced was close to Yoshiwara, the news that "Mashima Goro" had won the first place in the literary examination quickly spread throughout the Shirobei Club.
Most of the club officials were discussing this new guy who had just joined their Shirobei Club a while ago and made big news every few days.
Some people who knew Ogata came directly to find him and congratulated him in person.
For example, melon.
"Mashima-kun! I just heard everything! You actually won the first place in the essay test!"
"I didn't expect you to be an expert in Chinese studies!"
"Really? You were too modest before, weren't you? You kept saying that you just needed to pass the written test."
Because of his excitement, Guasheng's cheeks turned slightly red.
Ogata had just returned to Yoshiwara.
After returning to Yoshiwara, Ogata returned to the sentry post in the front half of Nakanomachi, which he was originally in charge of.
After returning to stand guard, people like Uesugi who knew Ogata kept coming to tell him the good news.
Hearing Uesugi's good news, Ogata couldn't help but smile helplessly again.
“I wasn’t being modest before…”
Ogata is actually still in a confused state.
What he had said to others before was not modesty.
He sincerely thought that as long as he could pass the written test, it would be fine. He had never thought about getting the first place in the written test from the beginning.
So when he saw the name "Mashima Goro" written in the column for the first place in the literary test, Ogata was dumbfounded.
Until now, I still feel like my body is floating.
Ogata was sure that he did not get all of the 100 fill-in-the-blank questions right. After all, there were many questions that he was not sure whether they were correct.
Even though I definitely didn't get all the fill-in-the-blank questions right, I still managed to get first place. This only means two things.
Or maybe the other people's level was too low, because even though Ogata didn't answer all the fill-in-the-blank questions correctly, he still got the first place in the written test.
Or maybe Ogata answered the last "composition question" so well that he was able to overtake others.
But this made Ogata wonder again.
He felt that his "composition" was not so well written. The words and sentences he used were very ordinary, and the content was just random.
The more Ogata thought about it, the more he couldn't understand why he got the first place in the essay test...
Hearing Ogata's words, Ueyu thought that Ogata was being modest again, so he put his hands on his hips and said in a sullen tone:
"Mashima-kun, sometimes being too modest isn't a good thing."
"The people in the government are not fools."
"It is impossible to misjudge the top scorer in the written test."
"Since you were able to take first place in the written test, it means you definitely deserve it."
"So be happy and don't make a weird face."
Uesugi raised his hand and patted Ogata on the lower back.
"The first place in the written test will receive a reward of 100 taels of gold. Think carefully about how you are going to spend the 100 taels in the future!"
“…That’s true.” Ogata took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through his nose.
The expression on his face was no longer tense as before because he was wondering why he got the first place in the written test.
"I really envy you, Mashima-kun." Uechi continued in a joking tone, "100 taels of gold... you'll instantly become a rich man."
"100 taels of gold can only mean that you don't have to worry about food and clothing for a short period of time. It's still far from being a 'rich man'." Ogata shrugged helplessly, "100 taels of gold may not even be enough for some people to have fun in Yoshiwara for a night."
Ogata has been working in Yoshiwara for a short period of time.
Although the time was not very long, I have witnessed twice how the rich people of this era spent their wealth.
It was probably the night 5 days ago when a middle-aged man with a big belly swaggered into Yoshiwara surrounded by a group of people.
According to people, this middle-aged man seems to be a wealthy businessman from Osaka.
That night, the wealthy businessman spent a huge fortune of 200 taels of gold in one go in Yoshiwara...
Although Japan in the Edo period pursued the basic national policy of "promoting agriculture and suppressing commerce", the development of commodity economy was the general trend of the times, and various reasons such as policy loopholes led to the growth of merchant power.
By now, there was even a situation where samurai in some places had to rely on merchants for support.
Many small fiefdoms with tight finances even owed money to those wealthy businessmen.
"That being said, 100 taels of gold is not a small amount of money for us. How about it? Have you figured out how to spend it?"
"For the time being, there are some simple plans..."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, a strange voice suddenly sounded beside him:
"Mashima Goro-kun, someone is looking for you."
Ogata looked in the direction of the voice.
An unfamiliar young man wearing the special haori of the Shirobei Club walked slowly towards Ogata with an equally unfamiliar middle-aged man.
After arriving at Ogata's side, the middle-aged man first bowed and thanked the official who brought him to Ogata, then turned back and said to Ogata:
"Mashima! I finally found you! It's me, the Yashima who wandered around Kyoto with you for a while a few months ago!"
Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Ogata raised his eyebrows.
What the middle-aged man just said was actually a code.
Ogata currently has one more reason and purpose for working at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara than before.
That is to act as an informant between them and Hasegawa.
Since it is not convenient to let Hasegawa know their current hiding place, it is most appropriate to let Ogata, who is already lurking in Yoshiwara, act as an informant.
Once Hasegawa finds out any new developments in Shiranui, he will send someone to Yoshiwara to find Ogata and contact him.
The secret code for contact is this sentence: I am Yashima who wandered with you in Kyoto for a while a few months ago.
The person who said this secret code was the one sent by Hasegawa.
This is the first time that Hasegawa has sent someone to find Ogata since they started working together.
Subconsciously thinking that Hasegawa might have finally gotten some information about Shiranui, Ogata immediately began his performance—pretending to be surprised, and then quickly said:
"It's you, Yadao. Long time no see."
Yashima nodded vigorously. "I heard that you were working at Shirobei Club, so I came to find you. Mashima, I have something private to discuss with you. Would it be convenient for you to come with me?"
…
…
at the same time--
Inside the hotel where Ogata and others are staying.
Genichi no longer sat in the corner of the room drinking like a loser as he did in the past.
Instead, he took out sword oil and maintained his sword.
While Genichi was applying oil to his sword, Shimada knelt beside him and carefully looked at the katana in Genichi's hand.
"No matter how many times I see it, I always feel that Master Genichi's sword is truly extraordinary..." Shimada swallowed.
The handles and scabbards of Genichi's katana and wakizashi are both dark red. The tsubasa is the most common round tsubasa, but it has many intricate patterns engraved on it.
Not only the hilt of the sword, but also the blades of Genichi's two swords have blade patterns that are full of awe-inspiring aura.
Even someone who knows nothing about swords can see that Genichi's two swords are by no means ordinary items.
Hearing Shimada's words, Genichi smiled slightly:
"Of course, my Yang Shen and Yan Rong are much more powerful than those so-called precious swords on the market now."
Uchikata·Yojin, Wakizashi·Enryū - these are the names of the two swords that Genichirō carried.
Genichi's Yangshen and Yanrong, like Ogata's Daishakuten and Daijizai, are longer than ordinary katana and wakizashi.
The blade length of Yang Shen is 72cm.
The blade length of Yanrong is 45cm.
In terms of length, it matches the height of Genichirō, who is 168cm tall, and like Ogata, is taller than the average for this era.
Genichi had just drunk some wine and his face was flushed.
However, even after drinking a little, Yuanyi's hands were still steady as he applied blade oil to the blade, without even a tremor.
After applying a thin layer of knife oil to the blade with a deft hand, Genichi looked at the "shiny" blade and suddenly said something for no apparent reason:
"I've been drinking every day lately. I've been taking it too easy. I want to move around a bit."
"Huh?" Shimada was stunned.
Shimada is just a newcomer who joined Huluya last year and has not been there for a long time. Although the time is the shortest, Shimada has gradually become accustomed to Genichi's style of "suddenly blurting out meaningless words" out of the blue.
So after being stunned for a while, Shimada's expression returned to normal and he asked:
"Master Genichi, do you want to go out for a walk? No, the lord has told you not to go out casually now. If your enemies find out that you are in Edo now, it will be troublesome."
In response to Shimada's words, Yuan Yi smiled silently, revealing a meaningful smile. He did not respond, but continued to move his eyes back and forth across Yang Shen's sword.
After looking at the Yang Shen in his hand enough, Yuan Yi raised his right hand again and applied blade oil to the Yang Shen's blade.
While continuing to apply oil, he said to Shimada:
"Shimada, can you go out and buy something for me later?"
"Things? Master Genichi, what do you want to buy?"
"Nothing, it's just that I have to stay here every day, which is really boring, so I plan to buy some interesting toys to relieve my boredom."
"Master Genichi..." Shimada said with a wry smile, "You are already too old to play with toys, right?"
"You're wrong, Shimada." Genichi shrugged. "No matter how old you are, people like to play, but the toys they play with keep changing."
"I am a relatively pure person. I still like to play with the toys I loved playing with when I was a child."
Not wanting to debate any twisted ideas with Genichi, Shimada sighed.
"Well... Master Yuan, if you want to play with toys to relieve your boredom, I'll buy them for you. So, Master Yuan, what kind of toys do you want?"
"I'll make a list for you later, and you can just buy according to it."