Naoshige kept nagging for a long time before finally "letting go" of Isseika.
After leaving the utility room with the secret passage with Isshikika one after the other, Naoshu suddenly seemed to remember something, turned his head quickly, and said to Isshikika:
"Xiaohua, I almost forgot to tell you."
"This evening, I am going to attend the 'Qing Tan' with your father. Do you want to come with me?"
"'Qingtan'..." Isshikika frowned slightly, "Will Danjiro participate in the 'Qingtan' tonight?"
"Well, Lord Danjiro will also participate in tonight's 'Qingtan'."
"Then I won't go." Isshikika answered without thinking.
"Xiao Hana..." Naoshige looked helpless, "Why do you hate Master Danjiro so much?"
"I should have told you, grandpa, right? I hate men like Danjiro who can't wait to hang out in the playground every day." Isshikika's brows furrowed even more tightly at this time.
"Lord Danjiro is indeed a little bit lustful, but this is not an intolerable shortcoming. Many important people are lustful."
"Except for the minor flaw of being a bit lascivious, Lord Danjiro is an extremely outstanding man in every aspect."
"Although he is just a commoner without a surname, he has such a magnanimous demeanor that even I have to admire..."
Before Naoshige could finish his words, Isshikika interrupted him:
"Alright, Grandpa. No matter how outstanding Danjiro-sama is in other aspects, I just hate these frequent visitors to the brothel."
"You and father can attend the 'Qing Tan' tonight. I won't go."
"Alright..." Nao Zhou scratched the hair on the back of his head, "If you don't want to participate, then forget it."
"You might as well stay home tonight."
"Since you plan to stay home tonight, I'll give you a task."
"Xiaohua, just concentrate on learning calligraphy from your mother tonight."
"Calligraphy?" Xiaohua's brows, which had just relaxed, frowned again, "Why?"
"There's no special reason. I just want you to look more like a child of a martial arts family." Naoshige glanced at Isika with a somewhat dissatisfied look, "You should also know how bad your calligraphy is, right?"
The expression on Isshikika's face froze in embarrassment.
"As a child of a military family, you must at least be able to write well," Nao Zhou continued, "Otherwise, when you get married, your ugly handwriting will most likely draw ridicule from your husband's family."
"I was too indulgent with you before. I have to be stricter with you now."
When Isshikika heard Naoshige mention the words "getting married", the corner of her eye twitched.
"...Grandpa, you are really obsessed with my marriage."
"Of course. After all, I don't want to watch my granddaughter become an old woman who is too old and no one wants her."
Zhi Zhou said calmly.
"You should know this, right? There are already many families that I had high hopes for, but they are unwilling to let a girl of your age be their daughter-in-law just because you are already 21 years old."
"...I think it doesn't matter if I can't get married for the rest of my life." Isshikika pursed her rosy lips, "I love swordsmanship. Even if I'm single, as long as I have swordsmanship by my side, I can live a happy life."
"Hmph!" As soon as Isshikika finished speaking, Naoshu snorted heavily, his face showing displeasure, "Stop saying such stupid things."
After saying that, Zhi Zhou paused.
After a moment of silence, he continued:
"…I wanted to wait a few days before talking to you about this."
"But I'll tell you this now."
"Half a month ago, through the introduction of a friend, I found a very good talent - Arima Soun, the eldest son of Nara Hakushokan."
"I have already met this Arima Soun, he is indeed an outstanding man."
"Good family background, good conversation, handsome appearance, and the right age, exactly 20 years old this year, and his parents don't mind their son marrying a 21-year-old wife."
"I intend for you to meet him in the summer at the latest."
"I think you would like that Arima Soun. After all, he is your type, and I have seen his swordsmanship with my own eyes."
"As expected of him, he is the eldest son of the famous Nara family, Hakushokan. His swordsmanship is impeccable and he is definitely outstanding among his peers. If he is given another one or two years, he will probably be able to reach the level of Menkyo Kaiden."
Naoshige was talking so much that he didn't notice Isshikika, who was walking behind him. Her expression showed obvious impatience and annoyance.
"Are you secretly looking for this so-called outstanding hero behind my back again..." Isshikika muttered in a voice that only she could hear.
Naoshige continued to introduce the excellence of "Arima Soun" to Isshiki Ka.
He didn't know that his words sounded like the hum of a mosquito to Isiseka's ears.
The impatience and boredom on Isika's face became more and more intense.
Then… Isshikika’s lips and tongue seemed to have suddenly gained consciousness of their own and began to move on their own:
“…No matter how good you are, can you be better than Ittosai?”
As soon as she finished saying this, Isshikika raised her hand to cover her mouth, lowered her eyes, and looked at her lips in surprise that had just moved subconsciously.
And Nao Zhou, who was walking in front of Isshiki Ka, also stopped, turned around, and looked at Isshiki Ka with disbelief.
"...Xiao Hana." Naoshige's face slowly darkened at this time, "I... should have reminded you that I will not let my granddaughter become someone else's concubine. Not to mention Ittosai, even the Emperor is not allowed."
Before Naoshige could finish his words, Isshikika, with a complicated expression on her face, pursed her lips tightly, turned around, and ran towards the stairs not far away without saying a word.
"Xiaohua! Xiaohua!" Naoshige shouted as he chased after Isshika's back.
No matter how he shouted, Isshikika showed no sign of stopping.
Seeing Isshiki Hana disappear from his sight as she climbed up to the second floor, Naoshu sighed heavily.
"What a worrying child..."
…
…
Osaka, Shinmachi, Nanakaya——
Ding~clang~
Osaka's current top geisha: Hatsumitsu, is currently sitting in her practice room, with her eyes half closed, playing the piano with both hands.
Suddenly—there was a strange noise coming from the ceiling above Chu Guang’s head.
Then, with a slight "click" sound, a board on the ceiling above Chu Guang's head was moved away, and a black shadow fell rapidly from the ceiling and landed steadily in front of Chu Guang.
"...Shibata, what's the matter?" Chu Guang stopped playing the piano.
The person who suddenly appeared in front of Chuguang was Chuguang's bodyguard: Shibata.
"Ms. Hatsumitsu." Shibata reached into his bosom and fumbled for something, "There are new orders."
After saying that, Shibata took out a piece of letter paper folded only as wide as two thumbs from his arms, and presented it to Chuguang with both hands.
Chu Guang took the letter and unfolded it, reading it quickly.
There was not much written on the letter, and Chu Guang read it all in one go.
After finishing reading, Chuguang handed the letter back to Shibata.
"...Shibata. Burn it. Then go down and get ready. We have an important mission to perform tonight."
Chuguang put the shamisen in his arms aside, then stretched hard with a tired look on his face.
"Tonight... we are going to formally plan to capture and kill Shura."
"Capture and kill... Shura...?" Shibata's eyes flashed with fear and he swallowed hard, "... Miss Chuguang, I don't quite understand."
"After Shura conquered Nijo Castle in Kyoto, didn't Lord Toyotomi always want to take him for himself?"
"In order to find Ogata Ittosai, he mobilized most of the Iga ninja's combat power to search for him."
"Why do you suddenly want to kill Shura now?"
"Who knows." Chu Guang curled his lips, "That guy... is a pervert with a problem in his brain. It would be strange if you could understand the thoughts of a pervert."
"Do we... have a way to capture and kill Shura..." Shibata muttered, "That's a monster that can defeat even 10,000 shogunate troops..."
"It's naturally very difficult to fight against that Shura when it comes to swordplay."
"But that pervert Toyotomi Nobuhide...is what he lacks the most."
Chu Guang made a shooting gesture.
“And this.”
Next, use your mouth to make the onomatopoeia of a cannon firing.
…
…
This evening——
After a quick dinner, Zhizhou hurriedly left home with Rushui.
The father and son walked through the busy streets and alleys of Osaka and finally stopped in front of a store.
The plaque on the door of this shop is very upright.
There are three huge Chinese characters "Mantou House" written directly on it.
The sweet smell of steamed buns wafted out from this medium-sized steamed bun shop. Inside the shop, two women, one older and one younger, were steaming buns with expert hands.
Zhi Zhou and Ru Shui took off the katana from their left waists, held them in their right hands, and strode into the steamed bun house.
The two women, one big and one small, who were busy in the steamed bun house, looked as if they were used to it when they saw Zhizhou and Rushui.
After glancing at the two of them, he continued with his own business.
The father and son walked into the back room of the steamed bun shop with ease, and then went up to the second floor along the stairs in the back room.
There were only four rooms on the second floor of this steamed bun house. Zhi Zhou and Ru Shui went straight to the room in the corner.
When I opened the door, I saw more than ten people sitting behind it.
These more than ten people almost filled up all the tatami in the room. There were only two oil lamps in the room. The scarce light made the room particularly dim.
"Sorry, we are late." Zhi Zhou apologized to everyone in the room while leading Rushui into the room.
"It doesn't matter."
As soon as Zhi Zhou finished his apology, a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes in the room smiled.
"I'm actually late too. I just got here not long ago."
"The Isshiki family has arrived. Now that everyone is here, there will be no more nonsense. Let's start tonight's 'quiet conversation'."
Seidanm - this was one of the jargons used by Naoshige and other patriots who secretly gathered together and were determined to overthrow the Edo Shogunate.
They call all "meetings" "empty talks".
The middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes lowered his voice.
"Tonight's conversation will still be hosted by me, Duan Jiro. Please give me your guidance."
The middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes - Dan Jiro bent .
And Zhi Zhou and others quickly bowed in return.
"First of all, I want to announce a good news to everyone - our comrades from Satsuma have successfully established contact with several high-ranking officials of Satsuma."
As soon as Danjiro finished speaking, cheers rang out in the room.
“That’s great, that’s great!”
"Finally, we have taken a solid step forward on the road to overthrowing the shogunate..."
“It’s not easy, it’s not easy!”
…
Everyone in the room was cheering. Although Zhizhou and Rushui did not shout out loud like the others, they also looked excited.
Dan Jiro put his palm forward, signaling everyone to be quiet, and the noisy cheers gradually subsided.
"Everyone, I understand your excitement." Danjiro said slowly, "But it's too early to be happy now."
"'Mobilize powerful clans such as Satsuma and Choshu to overthrow the shogunate by force' - our current small achievement is only a small step in our overall strategy of overthrowing the shogunate. We still have a long way to go."
“We can certainly be happy about today’s achievements, but we must not get carried away.”
Danjiro's words slightly cooled the excitement on everyone's faces in the room, and their eyes became calm again.
"We have only managed to establish contact with the high-ranking officials of Satsuma," Danjiro continued. "We will have to spend an unknown amount of time and energy to convince them to understand the righteousness of overthrowing the Edo Shogunate and restoring the glory of the emperor and the court."
“I hope that all comrades will continue to work together, work together, and never forget their original aspirations!”
"Even if it takes 10, 20, or 100 years, we must accomplish our ambition of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and honoring the emperor!"
As soon as Danjiro finished his words, the cheers that had just died down for a short while broke out again.
Even Naoshige was now shouting “Ohhhh!” while waving his fists vigorously.
Danjiro once again pushed his palm forward.
After making the room quiet again, Danjiro slowly stood up.
"Everyone, I have something important to discuss with you now."
"It is precisely for this matter that I have called everyone here for a 'clear discussion'."
"As our organization grows, it becomes more and more urgent to give it a formal name."
"We have previously held a 'clear discussion' on the naming issue."
Danjiro turned his attention to Naoshige.
"Mr. Naoshu proposed that we name our organization 'Tenjugumi' on the grounds that we are a righteous organization that follows the will of heaven and is determined to destroy the Edo Shogunate that violates justice."
In order to make it easier to distinguish between Naoshige, Josui and their family, Danjiro and others called Naoshige and others by their names.
"And Mr. Naito thought that the name should be 'Human Punishment Group'."
Danjiro turned his gaze to a sturdy middle-aged man.
"The reason is that we should fight the Edo Shogunate with 'human power', rather than relying on something as illusory as 'God's will'. Therefore, we should name it 'Human Punishment Group'."
"This discussion of what to call 'pure discussion' never came to a conclusion, and finally it just came to nothing."
"Afterwards, I thought a lot about the naming."
"Finally - I came up with a name that's better than the Tianzhu Group and Renzhu Group."
Duan Jiro's words immediately aroused the interest of everyone in the room, and they all involuntarily stretched their necks towards where Duan Jiro was standing.
"What kind of country are we going to build?"
Danjiro looked around at everyone around him, then asked himself:
"What we want to establish is a country like the Nara and Heian periods, with His Majesty the Emperor as the absolute center."
"His Majesty the Emperor should be the center of my Japanese Divine Kingdom, not some shogun."
"Regarding 'His Majesty the Emperor should be the center of this country', this is a truth that can be followed by 'laws'."
"Our action to overthrow the Qing dynasty is a righteous act that is based on the law!"
"We will never fail, because we have a righteous cause and the support of the law!"
"Since ancient times, there has never been a person or organization that has done everything right but ultimately failed!"
"Overthrowing the shogunate is not something that can be accomplished overnight."
"But no matter how long it takes, no matter how many setbacks we encounter, we will and will eventually achieve complete victory!"
"This is the power of justice, this is the power of 'law'!"
"With the power of 'Dharma', we will be invincible."
"So, I propose that our organization be named——"
Danjiro pulled out a large, neatly folded piece of paper from his bosom and unfolded it.
On the white paper, there are two huge Chinese characters written:
Punish by law.
These two Chinese characters are vigorous and powerful, like swimming dragons.
Looking at the two Chinese characters "法执" on the paper, the room became noisy again.
“Law punishment …Law punishment…”
"The Law Punishment Group... a nice name."
"Indeed, this name is more suitable for us than the Heaven's Punishment Group or the Human Punishment Group. The weapon we relied on to defeat the Edo Shogunate was not the will of heaven, nor was it human strength, but the invincible 'law'."
…
Most people in the room had satisfied looks on their faces - including Zhi Zhou and his son Ru Shui.
"Law Punishment Group...Law Punishment Group..." Naoshiro kept "chewing" the name "Law Punishment Group".
Every time he "chewed", Zhi Zhou's eyes became brighter.
…
…
At this moment——
Osaka, a certain izakaya——
"Kitahara..." Miura looked at Kitahara, whose face was already red from drinking, with a somewhat worried look in his eyes. "Did you drink a little too much?"
The table where Miura was sitting at the moment was a little peculiar.
Because the two people sitting at his table had both been deeply hurt by Ogata.
The person sitting opposite Miura at this time was Kitahara.
Miura had seen with his own eyes the famous Yukimura saluting respectfully to Ogata at Shinmachi, making him look like a clown when he had been proudly showing off his little achievements in front of Ogata.
As for Kitahara - there's no need to mention him.
Kitahara turned a deaf ear to Miura's advice.
He continued to hold the liquor high in his hand and poured it into his mouth.
After drinking another bottle of liquor, Beiyuan put the bottle in his hand down heavily.
“Damn it… Damn it… Miss Isshiki… Miss Isshiki… I have always been sincere to you… Why do you only smile at that guy… Is it because he is good at swordsmanship and has a great background…”
Kitahara muttered, his eyes cloudy from drinking too much.
There was a gleam of anger and jealousy in his eyes.