Chapter 742 Volume 9 – Chapter 107: The Man’s World (Part 1)
There were a total of fifteen well-equipped warriors. Besides that, another two samurai, five entourage, and one handmaid escorted the Kondo family’s Miss Tsukihime. It was more than an exaggeration to describe the current lineup. Somehow it was still inadequate!
For sure, this lineup was strong enough to deal with ordinary bandits. However, it was still lacking in the face of evil demon beasts. After all, the world was in an era that had been filled with demon beasts.
“Miss Tsukihime, we have entered the Unripe Rice Village.” A samurai from her family came to the carriage.
Zixing opened the curtains and saw farmers working diligently in the paddy field. At this moment, she looked surprised and asked, “Can you ask one of them to come over? I have something to ask.”
“Yes, miss!” The samurai nodded. He rode his horse to the side of the paddy field.
Soon after, the samurai of the family returned with a panicked but still calm middle-aged tenant farmer, “Answer Miss Tsukihime’s question!”
“Yes, my lord!” The tenant farmer did not even dare to raise his head. He bowed directly in front of the carriage.
Zixing was indifferent to the salute. As a true demon beast and the young master of the proud Greedy Wolf Clan, she was a respected existence. She had seen too many of her tribe members kneeling to her, let alone just ignorant humans.
“Where is Nagato’s house?” asked Zixing directly.
The tenant farmer said quickly, “It’s just ahead about three miles away.”
The tenant farmer said carefully, for fear of making a mistake. He didn’t understand who would go to Master Nagato. Looking at the carriage lineup, it was even more prestigious than Master Nagato’s family.
Zixing nodded quickly, waved her hand to let the samurai bring the farmer away. Then, she ordered the other samurai in front of her to lead the way to Nagato’s house.
“This is for you!”
The samurai threw a little money in front of the tenant farmer, who naturally took it with both hands with gratitude. Then, he watched the lineup slowly leave.
It was just that the tenant farmer looked at the rather heavy small purse in his hand, but he couldn’t be happy at all. He shook his head and threw the money bag into the basket. He placed it next to the paddy field, not afraid that someone would take it away quietly.
For the people of Unripe Rice Village, wealth was not as good as the security for three meals a day. After all, they could not leave the village.
In the village, one could already be self-sufficient. They had nothing to seek for.
…
Nagato’s house; mansion.
When the Kondo’s Tsukihime lineup stopped in front of the entrance, Master Nagato and the others were already standing there. Some of the servants even had a hint of rush. They must have greeted her unprepared.
“You are the head of the Nagato family?”
The Kondo family’s samurai took a step forward and asked domineeringly.
Master Nagato nodded respectfully and quickly said, “I don’t know that Miss Tsukihime is coming. Our servants saw the Kondo family’s crest from a distance and came to report to me. I hurriedly led the family to greet you all.”
However, it was permissible to gather so many people and lead the family to greet them in a very short period. Although it seemed untidy, it was considered passable. The Kondo family’s samurai probably understood this too, so he didn’t put too much fault on that. He gave a haughty hush and then ordered, “Miss Tsukihime is going to stay here for a few days. Go and prepare for it.”
Naturally, Master Nagato didn’t dare to disobey. He quickly ordered his servants to clean up every last room the mansion had. He had no choice, after all. The Kondo family was a big family that owned the entire Mountain Famen. The Unripe Rice Village that the Nagato family received was also a reward from the Kondo family’s ancestors.
Speaking of it, the Kondo family bestowed the Nagato surname. Therefore, how dare the Nagato family say a word about Miss Tsukihime’s request from the Kondo family?
It was just baffling that the aloof Princess Tsukihime suddenly came to such a remote country.
Master Nagato frowned deeply about this. He subconsciously thought of Nagato Saburo. Could it be because of Saburo’s affairs? Fortunately, after getting the servant’s report, he quickly asked Nagato Saburo to avoid Miss Tsukihime for the time being, so Nagato Saburo was not here.
Nagato Saburo claimed to the outside world that he was injured on the battlefield, so the commander-in-chief commanded him to return home and recuperate. He was a warrior who had made military exploits. But, how could Nagato Saburo’s words trick Master Nagato, who watched him grow up?
Everything was just a lie of the deserter on the battlefield, Nagato Saburo.
Despite knowing all this, Master Nagato also had to hide Nagato Saburo’s identity as a deserter to maintain the Nagato family’s reputation.
As the head of the Nagato family, Master Nagato was the only person qualified to lead the Kondo family’s princess. Despite this, Master Nagato still dare not walk side by side with Tsukihime Kondo but paced slightly slower. In this era, the ranks were extremely strict. He should not walk beyond her half a step, even if she were a woman.
“May I ask why Miss Tsukihime came in person?” asked Master Nagato cautiously.
Tsukihime Kondo… Zixing was only looking at the courtyard outside the corridor and seemed unwilling to answer Master Nagato’s question. At this moment, Zixing suddenly stopped and said calmly, “Who is that?”
In the courtyard, a little girl was squatting by the pond. Besides the little girl, there was a maid behind. Master Nagato looked over. He quickly lowered his head and said, “To answer Miss Tsukihime, that is Chizuko. She is my little brother, Saburo’s daughter.”
“Chizuko…Nagato Chizuko?” Zixing said the name in a low volume.
“It’s Nagato Chizuko, Miss Tsukihime.” Master Nagato hurriedly responded. Although he didn’t know why the Kondo princess would ask so knowingly, he couldn’t ignore the Kondo princess’s words.
I heard that the Kondo family’s patriarch wanted to choose a husband-in-law for Miss Tsukihime. Of course, this husband-in-law can’t get everything from the Kondo family, but their children have this qualification!
So if…
“Chizuko!”
At this moment, Master Nagato suddenly yelled and then beckoned to the duo as if he wanted Chizuko to come over. He did not expect the little girl to hide behind the maid instead, only daring to stick out her small head, looking timidly.
Master Nagato frowned. He noticed Miss Tsukihime’s expression was faint. She didn’t seem to be displeased, so he hurriedly said, “Miss Tsukihime, please forgive me. Chizuko is still young and doesn’t understand etiquette. I will lecture her afterward. However, I can assure you that Chizuko doesn’t dislike Miss Tsukihime. She is just a little afraid of strangers. This child has not had a mother since she was born. She has not been well taken care of, so in terms of personality…”
Zixing said calmly, “Is she just afraid of strangers?”
Master Nagato met Miss Tsukihime’s gaze. According to the rumors, Miss Tsukihime was weak, but her gaze was a bit sharper than the Kondo family’s head when he was young. Could it be that the rumors are wrong?
Zixing’s words troubled Master Nagato deeply. Master Nagato’s gaze quickly moved around. Someone from Nagato’s family walked up in front of him, and he said quickly. “Miss Tsukihime, the room has been cleaned up. Please follow me over.”
“En.” Zixing waved her sleeves before walking forward.
Master Nagato secretly breathed a sigh of relief but waved to the maid in the courtyard, asking the maid to take Nagato Chizuko away as soon as possible.
At this time, Master Nagato also summoned another servant and whispered, “Hurry up and bring Shinji over! Remember to dress him neatly not to embarrass the Nagato family!”
After giving out orders, Master Nagato hurried to catch up. As for Nagato Saburo, since Master Nagato once again asked someone to inform him not to show up.
Not many people learned about Nagato Saburo as a deserter, especially in this era when communication systems were not developed. As long as the news was well kept, one might be able to keep it secret. However, the visitor was the Kondo family. The news might have leaked.