"I-I-I suddenly want to go to the toilet...!"
Aoto ignored Toshisuke’s shout.
He only regarded Toshisuke’s words as another excuse to avoid him.
Ignoring Toshisuke’s struggle, he focused on tightly gripping Toshisuke’s wrist, preventing him from escaping.
Aoto’s grip was quite strong, after all, he had the gift of fingers ’far more agile and powerful than ordinary people’: "Skillful Hands."
The small-bodied Toshisuke was very light; it didn’t take much effort to easily pull him along.
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!"
Seeing the bathhouse getting closer, Toshisuke struggled more fiercely.
He used the heels of his wooden clogs to dig into the ground, leaning back to try and stop Aoto’s dragging.
Toshisuke’s desperate struggle did have some effect.
But the effect was akin to futility...
Aoto was determined to ’question everything with Toshisuke tonight.’
No matter what Toshisuke tried, Aoto remained unmoved.
Seen with gritted teeth and a firm resolve, Aoto intensified his grip on Toshisuke’s wrist with a ’never-let-go’ momentum.
Like plowing the field, two crooked lines appeared, dragged by Toshisuke’s clogs all the way to Qianxun House—Aoto finally succeeded by sheer force and perseverance, pulling Toshisuke into the ’men’s bath.’
"Oh my, isn’t this Mr. Tachibana? You’re coming to bathe quite late today?"
Sitting behind the counter bordering the men’s bath entrance, Granny Tang promptly greeted Aoto warmly upon seeing him.
Aoto had lived in Shiwei Hall for over seven months now, already quite familiar with the owner of Qianxun House.
Granny Tang, as the owner of Qianxun House, was specifically responsible for managing the men’s bath, while a young maid employed by her managed the women’s bath.
"Good evening, Granny Tang, something happened tonight, been busy until now before I finally got a chance to bathe. Here are our two bathing fees."
Aoto neatly lined up 4 copper coins on the counter, then continued dragging Toshisuke, pulling him deeper into the men’s bath.
At this point, Toshisuke was no longer shouting nor struggling violently.
He only stared wide-eyed, pale-faced, looking lost as the ’bathroom’ approached him....
As the silhouettes of Aoto and Toshisuke both disappeared inside the bathroom, Granny Tang stretched her neck, poking her head out from the counter, casting a puzzled glance toward the bathroom.
"Oh my... A new face..."
At this moment—
Shiwei Hall, dining room—
"...and then, I’ve heard that lately the Shogunate is pushing hard on something called ’Public-Military Integration.’"
At this moment, in the spacious dining room, Aoto’s old servant Kyūbē was leisurely sorting Aoto’s clothes.
Saito, who liked spending time ’daydreaming,’ was laying flat like a sloth on the tatami, eyes staring straight at the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought... but also seemed like he wasn’t thinking at all.
Beside Saito, Harada, Hijikata, and Nagakura were gathered together, chatting about idle topics.
"’Public-Military Integration’?" Nagakura asked Harada, "What’s that about?"
Harada was quite the lively character, unable to sit still, always keen to roam outside once idle.
From a certain angle...Harada’s habit of roaming outside was actually quite beneficial.
Because of his love for wandering, Harada was always the first to gather the latest news.
Thus, Harada served as Shiwei Hall’s ’first journalist.’
The Shiwei Hall group often heard of new changes and events from Harada.
"Specifically... I’m not very clear, as I’m not fond of using my brain, can’t remember overly complex things."
Harada, lying sideways on the tatami, casually dug his nose with a finger.
"If I remember correctly... it seems like it’s about Duke Dashu marrying a princess from Kyoto, uniting the court and Military Family or something..."
"...I got it." Hijikata nodded, "Simply put, it’s about using marriage to bolster the Edo Shogunate’s power and status, harnessing Kyoto Court’s authority."
With Hijikata’s succinct explanation, Nagakura immediately understood.
"Feels... rather discouraging..." Nagakura scratched his head, "The Kyoto Court has no money, no grain, no troops or generals. Yet, the Shogunate is still attempting to marry into the court..."
"After all, the court holds unmatched influence."
Hijikata said calmly.
"The thousand-year history of the court is quite a potent banner."
"Whoever can wield this banner gains a strong force named ’justice.’
"Don’t underestimate this power. Properly used, it can rival thousands of troops."
"Ha... truly a chaotic era..." Nagakura sighed deeply, "All sorts of unexpected major events keep popping up randomly... it’s really uneasy..."
"Indeed, these times are quite unsettling." Hijikata folded his arms and nodded lightly, "The Shogunate is now pushing ’Public-Military Integration’ vigorously... if handled well, it could be quite a smart move. Receiving support from the court could greatly improve the Shogunate’s current situation. But I suspect this ’Public-Military Integration’ won’t go smoothly..."
Just as Hijikata, Nagakura, and Harada were engrossed in their chat—
Thump, thump, thump, thump...!
Suddenly, rapid footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.
Before Hijikata and the others had time to turn towards the sound, the dining room door was suddenly pushed open with a ’thud.’
"Quick, quick! Everyone come help!" From outside the room, Abi with a white cloth wrapped around his head, holding a broom, shouted urgently, "There’s a rat! Hurry and let’s kill the rat together!"
Today’s Chapter has 8,300 words... the word count is generous, and the content is rich. Not voting for the monthly ticket feels unjustified! (Leopard Cry.jpg)
Begging for monthly tickets! Begging for recommendation tickets! (Leopard Head Crying Pain.jpg)

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