Chapter 8 Section VIII

He was not the only one who was surprised, but also the other party.Under the meeting of eyes, the other party seemed to be frozen all over.The man is next to the window decorated with flowers and birds on the handrail on the right hand side of the front.Shengzhisuke stood up as if being pulled by an invisible thread.He walked forward, but the people inside the window disappeared as if fleeing.He saw the other party's swaying black hair. When Shengzhisuke was about to charge forward, someone grabbed his sleeve, and he staggered suddenly. "Mr. Sheng, what's the matter?" It was Ah Jin.

"Yeah." He looked up at the window again tremblingly, this time it was Jihei who appeared.As soon as he saw Shengzhisuke, he showed a wry smile, stretched out his hand to his forehead, and immediately retracted into the window.what's the problem? "I'm in a hurry." After finishing speaking, Shengzhisuke shook off Ajin's hand, and rushed to the loan seat through the cheering crowd.The Big Wine King Competition has already started, and the drums are beating, as if encouraging the contestants who are holding red wine glasses to drink, the onlookers have also counted the drums and rang a few times.Shengzhisuke hurriedly shuttled through the crowd.At the door of the mat, Jihei, wearing white cloth socks, was already waiting for him.Seeing Shengzhisuke rushing forward, Jihei's charcoal eyebrows drooped into a figure eight, and he shrunk his neck apologetically.

"Mr. Jihei!" "I'm really sorry." Jihei then said something vaguely, not knowing whether he was explaining or explaining.All the guests in the banquet were as jubilant as the onlookers in the cherry blossom garden, Shengzhisuke couldn't hear what Jihei said. Shengzhisuke opened his voice and said: "Isn't that person just now the woman under the cherry tree!" The woman with cut hair stood under the cherry tree on the embankment behind the Fukan longhouse, making it hard to tell. Qing is a woman of dreams and illusions.Like a cherry blossom that is only 10% in bloom, she looks reserved and lonely, a woman who deeply attracts Sheng Zhisuke's attention.

"Brother Sheng, calm down first." Zhibingwei comforted, behind him was the stairs leading upstairs.It was wiped so brightly that it glowed with black light.Sheng Zhisuke glanced up. "Is she up there? Jibei-san, do you know her?" "Yes, no, this..." The other party ran away—Jihei smiled sloppily and grabbed Shengnosuke's arm. "Come here first. Take off your shoes first. There is no need to be in such a hurry." Sheng Zhisuke was not in a hurry, he was just surprised.Having said that, Jibei is really bad-hearted.Now that you know each other, why not tell them clearly at the beginning.Jibei looked around and opened a sliding door next to the stairs.

"Just borrow this room." He waved at Shengzhisuke.When I walked in, I saw an elevated Japanese-style room, about four and a half tatami mats, empty.Jibei sat down without authorization as if he knew the way, and asked Shengzhisuke to sit down too. "But……" "It's right for you to sit." Sheng Zhisuke, who was standing all the time, found himself inexplicably impatient after isolating himself from the noise around him. It is really inappropriate for a little samurai to yell for a woman. "I beg your pardon for such an inappropriate behavior. I also seem to be carried away by viewing the flowers."

This time, Shinosuke shrank back, and Jihei narrowed his big eyes like copper bells, looked at Shengnosuke and smiled. "The lady's name is Hexiang. She is nineteen years old. She is a customer of our store." It turned out to be a customer?That being the case, Zhibingwei is more than acquaintance.When he heard that the woman had cut her hair, he should have immediately thought of who it was. "About her origin..." Jihei put his hands in his arms, sometimes looked distressed, and sometimes nodded understandingly. "Forgive me for not being able to explain clearly. However, she lives near you, so she will appear by the river early in the morning."

"Then why is she here today?" The appearance of Sheng Zhisuke's questioning showed that he was anxious, but he tried his best to endure for the sake of dignity.Jihei couldn't help laughing for a moment. "I invited her here. I want to arrange for you to meet." Arrange to meet?Shengzhisuke stuttered for a moment. "I, I didn't want, ask you to do this." "But don't you want to meet her? Want to know her real identity?" "That's right..." "Brother Sheng, you are still young, you don't need to be hard-hearted. It is only natural that you will miss a beautiful girl."

After Jihei spoke bluntly, his eyes suddenly turned lonely, and he lowered his voice even though there was no one around. "Miss Hexiang hardly ever goes out. When I heard you mentioned this, I was actually quite surprised." Boom, boom, boom, the drums in the Sakura Garden are getting louder and louder.There were thunderous cheers all around. "Is it hidden in a deep boudoir that no one knows?" Jihei nodded. "Parents did take good care of her in every possible way, but that's not the reason why she hid in the deep boudoir. Rather, her parents were worried that she would be locked up in the deep boudoir and would not come out, but they knew Miss Hexiang's temper very well, so they couldn't force her out."

Hearing what Jibei said, Shengzhisuke guessed that this girl named Hexiang seemed to have some kind of problem (and it was quite complicated). "It was me and his parents who tried to persuade her to bring her here this time. But at the critical moment, Ms. Kazuka said that she felt embarrassed." Having said that, Jihei smiled slightly at Shinosuke. "However, it's lucky that she is willing to go to such a lively place. It's all thanks to you, Brother Sheng." Jibei said it was his credit, but Shengzhisuke was at a loss. "Did I do anything?" "Yes. Brother Sheng, are you surprised by Miss Hexiang's haircut?"

"yes." "You think Miss Hexiang is a beautiful woman, like a cherry blossom elf, right?" "Yes." As a samurai, I don't know if it's appropriate to say such a thing, Sheng Zhisuke thought about this question secretly, and answered under the guidance of Jihei. "That girl's forehead...is a bit protruding, and she looks very cute. Brother Sheng even noticed this, right?" "Did you even tell the other party this? Wouldn't it make her feel uncomfortable?" "No, not at all." Jihei shook his head slowly. "How could it be uncomfortable. I was a little surprised."

Sheng Zhisuke flinched slightly. "She is obviously a samurai, but she is hiding and peeping. She should be surprised by such a rude person." "No, no, Miss Hexiang didn't see you, brother Sheng, when she was under the cherry tree by the river. But when she fell down, she heard the sound of closing the paper door from the Fukan longhouse facing the river, and she hurried to the sound Looking in the direction. So she thought, she must have been seen." Wouldn't I really be a voyeur then?Shengzhisuke was ashamed in his heart. "Don't put on such a face." Jihei seemed calm and composed. "I told Ms. Hexiang that Mr. Sheng is a young samurai who is doing book copying for me. After hearing this, she was relieved. I also told her that the other party is not a strange person, nor is he a man with a wicked heart. I, Murata Yajibei, can vouch for that." Hexiang's thoughts have changed.Jihei emphasized very forcefully—this is really rare, and it is unheard of. "She said, it doesn't matter if you stand far away, I want to see what kind of person Mr. Sheng is, so I immediately said to her while the iron is hot-don't say that, just meet him directly and appreciate it together." spend it." It failed in the end—Jihei raised his eyebrows slightly. "I seem to be too impatient." Why are you surprised?What's rare?How impatient?What Jihei said was endless. "I don't quite understand..." "Don't you understand?" Jihei admitted generously, with a calm expression on his face. "I probably don't understand it yet. I'll tell you in order." He spoke completely out of sequence.Why is Jibei so excited? "I just pointed at you and said, 'Mr. Furuhashi Shengnosuke is the one sitting on the grid seat', and Ms. Kazuka just looked down from the window." He Xiang replied "That's it", and looked straight at Sheng Zhisuke. "Is she a cut hair?" "Yes. So I recognized it immediately." "It's really rare. In this way, it's the second time for Brother Sheng to see Miss He Xiang with cut hair. Except for her parents, no one has seen her so often, even I haven't seen her carefully. " Shengzhisuke's mind was in chaos. "How do you say that?" "Miss Hexiang always wears a headscarf. Not to mention her lovely forehead, she even covers her eyes with a headscarf. If she doesn't dress like this, she will never show herself in front of people other than her parents." Shinosuke closed his lips tightly, staring at Jihei intently.Jihei's charcoal eyebrows were completely horizontal, and his big copper bell-like eyes were smiling, but they were extremely serious. "It's an odd habit for a young girl. But Miss Hexiang is like that, and she has a reason for it." Shengzhisuke tried to recall Waka under the cherry tree, and Waka watching him from the window.Her cut hair fluttered in the wind, lightly covering her forehead and cheeks... "But Brother Sheng, you didn't notice this. You didn't notice it twice. And you think she is beautiful and her forehead is cute. You are not affected by Miss Hexiang's other 'characteristics' at all. Brother Sheng, you are so discerning people. And frankly, I was surprised too.” So at the beginning, Brother Sheng, when you asked me about cutting hair girls, I deliberately pretended to be ignorant and vague——Jihei said. "I think Miss Hexiang must first know that there is someone like you, and then confirm with her whether you can know about her." The corners of Shengzhisuke's originally tightly closed lips drooped slightly. "After confirming, Miss Hexiang said that you can tell me about her, right?" "Yes. Because she is very interested in what kind of person you are." "It's all because I didn't discover Miss Hexiang's 'characteristics'." Jihei nodded, and looked into Shengzhisuke's eyes.Sheng Zhisuke made up his mind and asked, "What are her 'characteristics'?" Jihei seemed to have made up his mind, and he widened his eyes before answering: "I asked Ms. Kazuka if I could answer Mr. Sheng's question. She said yes. But if I tell you... " ——That Furuhashi-san should never want to see me again. "So she said it's okay to tell you." Sheng Zhisuke was silent for a moment.He was neither hesitating nor thinking.He just wanted to answer as decisively as possible. "I find it surprising that she made such an assertion." Such an answer is not decisive enough.Zhi Bingwei clapped his hands and rejoiced. "That's right. As expected of Brother Sheng." It's nice to be young——Jihei said happily, and then added another sentence. "Miss Hexiang has a birthmark. There are red spots on the left side of her face and body." Sheng Zhisuke's drooping lips were closed even tighter, and the lips were barely visible. "So she usually wears a headscarf. The kimono also makes the left sleeve longer than the right sleeve. In order to cover the back of her hands." Then Jihei seemed to be waiting to see Shengzhisuke's answer, his big eyes rolled around. "I didn't find out at all." Shengzhisuke squeezed out the words.Because Hexiang looks like a cherry blossom spirit.All he could see was her jet-black cut hair, jet-black pupils, and fair cheeks that seemed to reflect the blush of the cherry blossoms.It seemed that this was the feeling, which made his heart skip a beat. "I heard that the erythema will lighten slightly from winter to early spring. It is the most serious in summer." Jibei's expression was distorted, and he looked very painful. "I heard that it sometimes hurts and swells. Ms. Hexiang cut her hair because she can't do it in a bun. Because she has to pull her hair to do it, and the oil will damage her skin." Shengzhisuke wanted to say something, but he couldn't figure it out.He ends with a short remark. "Cut hair suits her well." Jihei smiled and bent over. "I'm glad you said that. I see." He clapped his hands happily again. "Miss Hexiang took off her turban just now when she poked her head out of the window. She had been wearing it all the time before." She probably wanted Brother Sheng to see her birthmark clearly. "But Brother Sheng, you didn't see it twice. The first time and the second time were not because you were far away. At that distance, you would usually find the red spots on her face. If it were someone else, even if you didn't I can clearly see that it is a erythema, and I can also think that it is a shadow on my face." At some point, the sound of the drums in the Sakura Garden stopped.The voices of people came in from far away through the sliding door. "...Did I do something very rude?" "No, where did it come from?" Jibei emphasized his tone. "This proves that Brother Sheng has good eyesight and knows how to appreciate 'beauty'. What you see is not only the surface, but the real beauty of things." Jihei seemed to be quite impressed, but didn't Kazuka run away? "Miss Hexiang is timid." It's no wonder—Jihei said softly. "And she is full of distrust of people. When she ran away just now, she said something that seemed to be throwing a temper." ——The next time Mr. Furuhashi sees my birthmark, he will realize that I am not a cherry blossom elf, but a monster at all. "She thought she was strong, but she was about to cry. Because seeing you, Miss Hexiang was also moved." "Please don't mock me." Sheng Zhisuke knew that his face was flushed with shame. "I didn't make fun of you. I'm just happy. How about it, Brother Sheng, do you want to get to know Miss He Xiang better? She also likes books, so you two must be very compatible. That's right, you must be very compatible." Look at the way he speaks, he looks like a matchmaker. The eyebrows of the charcoal ball piled up a happy smile, which made Shengzhisuke dumbfounded for a while, and he smiled wryly: "Mr. Jibei, I didn't expect you to be so strong." "Really?" "If Miss Hexiang has such difficulties, it would be too much for you to bring her to this kind of flower viewing party. This is simply a difficult situation. It should be done step by step." Despite being criticized, Jibei did not shrink back, but became more active. "Before she said nothing and refused to change, so I tried to push her behind. I think it's always good to try. But I will pay attention in the future and stop embarrassing Miss Hexiang. In short, our conversation at the moment can be Tell Miss Hexiang?" I'm a monster at all—— Kazuka said so.But Shengzhisuke rushed here recklessly, because the face protruding from the second floor was the cherry blossom elf.Please don't say you are a monster.You obviously look like a fairy. Shengzhisuke said, "I'm deeply sorry for scaring Ms. Hexiang at that time. If you can convey this on my behalf, I will agree." I understand—Jihei bowed deeply.After a while, looking at Jihei with a satisfied face, Shengzhisuke suddenly came back to his senses.What am I doing here today?Not here to enjoy the flowers or blush at such frivolities.I need to pull myself together. "This time, let me ask you a question." Please come over with your ears—Shonosuke beckoned, Jihei blinked in wonder, and moved his face closer. "What's the problem?" "Mr. Jihei, you specially prepared a checkered mat for us to enjoy flowers today. Was it Master Dongtani's order?" Charcoal Ball's eyebrows were raised, turning into an inverted horoscope, and three wrinkles appeared on his forehead. "What?" Sheng Zhisuke quickly whispered, "I know you are very good at pretending to be confused. I hope you can tell me frankly, is this all arranged by Master Donggu today?" Jihei looked at Shengzhisuke for a while, then shook his head again. "No, Lord Donggu didn't say anything to me." Is this purely by chance?Because it was the well-known flower viewing feast and the big stomach king competition, several things happened to overlap, and Jihei didn't know anything about it.When Shengzhisuke was thinking secretly, Jihei made another guess on his own. "Brother Sheng, do you think Master Donggu can't bear to see your hard-hearted appearance, and you want me to think of a way for you? No, no, no, you are overthinking. This is entirely my own idea." I feel really guilty for taking advantage of a good person like Jihei.But if you don't take advantage of the opportunity when it comes, then you really don't know the purpose of staying in Edo.Time can't be wasted any longer. "Mr. Jihei, can I ask you a favor?" Shinosuke lowered his voice. "Murataya is always looking for new writers, right?" "The premise is a writer with good ability." "Can you please spread the word at this banquet? Just say that you need a writer who is skilled in clerical work, and it is best to completely imitate the handwriting of the original book." "Why is that?" Zhibei was quite surprised. "I can still understand the imitation of the painting, but you say that you want to completely imitate the handwriting. Does the work of copying require such skills?" "It's hard to say. Complete imitation of handwriting is the pinnacle of manuscript work, isn't it?" Even Shengzhisuke felt that he was really eloquent, but this was not an excuse he thought of at the moment, starting from the moment he decided to come to enjoy the flowers , Sheng Zhisuke was conceiving this matter. "After I read "Food Master", I feel that not only the pictures, but also the words are indescribable. There are subtleties in the combination. It would be wonderful if I could completely imitate it." "That's right." "Please. If someone has such a skill, I want to learn from him. I've been thinking about it a lot lately." Hmm—Jihei frowned, and brought the topic back to Kazuka. "Miss Kazuka also has good handwriting." Jihei raised his lips slightly. "In this case, I am looking forward to meeting her more and more." Sheng Zhisuke suppressed the guilt in his heart and forced a smile. "It's rare for so many people to gather today." Zhi Bingwei looked at the lively crowd at the banquet. "In that case, I'll give it a try. But, is there really such a person?" There should be such a person—Shonosuke whispered in his heart.