Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Qian Ji Suicide

The remaining materials of the Great Buddha Hall in Kyoto were successively transported to Osaka Castle, where the outer city was completely destroyed. It was not long after Tokugawa Hidetada left, that is, at the end of the first month and the beginning of February of the 20th year of Qingcho. Surplus materials were blatantly piled up in the inner moat area before the eyes of the common people. Not long after, the sound of ping-ping-pong-pong was heard there, and of course various rumors arose among the people. "The general didn't return to Edo because the war was over. He first buried the city, and then mobilized the army to clean up Osaka."

No one came out to deny it.Once the rumor spread, it swept through the streets and alleys of Jingban in an instant. "Have you heard that Edo is going to send a large army to attack again?" "Hey, this time it won't be as cheap as last time. I heard that Keiban will be reduced to ashes, is it true?" "Where there is no wind, there are no waves. If you want to find evidence, you only need to look at the watchtower that is being rebuilt over there." Some of them rushed to the pier to ask the carpenters and helpers. Not only that, but in mid-February, people in Kyoto even sought refuge at the homes of relatives and friends outside Luo, fearing for their lives.

"Don't hesitate anymore. I heard that the pioneers of Edo have gathered across from Hakone." But these rumors did not spread to the ears of Hideyori, Mrs. Dian and others in the city.It wasn't because it couldn't be passed on, but because the Ono brothers tried their best to conceal it, they were still immersed in the joy of negotiating peace. Under the pressure of Ronin, Zhichang and Zhifang asked people to transport the remaining materials of the Great Buddha Hall back to appease the doubts, but they had no intention of fighting again. "You Mansion is determined to accept the relocation. But once this news is leaked, there will be a life-threatening event. It's really a headache." Although he complained repeatedly, Brother Ohno was not as decisive as Brother Piantong.No matter what, we must rely on the existing more than 600,000 stones to allow the Toyotomi clan to survive. This is what Katagiri Kasumi means. Although it is only intended to preserve success, it has a clear purpose in the end.Ono Zhichang only has the heart of competing with Qi Yuan for favor, but has no ambitions.It was him who made the loyal Qie Yuan go to Tokugawa sadly.

At present, one thing is completely clear: Mrs. Yodo and Hideyori have treated Ieyasu with love and are willing to obey Ieyasu's disposition.Now that he understands the mother and son's thoughts, how can the chief magistrate become an enemy of Ieyasu again?Therefore, the biggest headache for Brother Ohno is how to deal with the ronin. "It's really a headache. If you don't take immediate measures, You Fu and his wife are very likely to have conflicts with the Ronin." At this critical juncture, a major event that fell from the sky immediately caused an explosion in the city of Osaka, and the Ono brothers never dreamed of it——Qianji wanted to commit suicide.

After the peace negotiation, Qianji left Mrs. Dian and returned to her residence in the city.Not long after, her skin became quite shiny, and the smile that had been missing for a while climbed onto her brows. However, at noon on February 18th, Qianji hid in the room where the Buddha statue of Dainichi Tathagata made by Master Mu Shi himself was placed, intending to commit suicide.The Buddhist hall was previously used by Mrs. Yodo, and it is also Mrs. Yodo who placed the statue of Dainichi Tathagata here. On that day, Mrs. Dian had finished worshiping the late Taige, and suddenly thought of ordering the Dazang Bureau to pay homage to the Tathagata Buddha on her behalf.So, the Dazang Bureau came to the Buddhist hall with offerings.She first went to Qianji's bedroom, but Qianji was not there.She ordered the maid to bring the offerings to the Buddhist hall, and found Qianji who was about to commit suicide.

The maid rushed to the duty room in a panic.There, the Ono brothers debated endlessly about whether to re-excavate the buried city. "My lord, something has happened. Please go to the Buddhist hall in the inner court to have a look, Mrs. Dazang...please." Seeing her trembling, the governor thought that her mother was ill, so he asked as he walked, "How is the condition?" The maid was panic-stricken and unable to speak, which made the two brothers even more anxious. "What's the matter with mother?" Zhi Zhang rushed into the house first, and immediately stood there frozen.

The Dazang Bureau squatted perfectly, grabbed Qianji's right wrist, and looked at his son nervously, "Keep your voice down, don't let Mrs. Dian hear it." Qianji was wrapped in a pure white padded jacket.The bright lamp in front of the Buddha, the rich fragrance, and the open-handled sword in the purple silk bag under her knees... are enough for people to understand what happened. "Chief Zhi, put this away." The Dazang Bureau threw the nine-inch five-inch sword in front of Chief Zhi. Qianji's right wrist was held by the Dazang Bureau, her expression was dull.On the other side of her, the Secretary of the Criminal Ministry who had been with her since she was a child fell on the ground and wept silently.

"This...what's the matter, mother?" Although Zhi Zhang understood clearly, he had nothing else to ask. The Dazang Bureau did not answer, but just patted the couch towards the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, "Don't cry anymore, you only know how to cry, how do we know the truth? The young lady doesn't say anything, but you don't know anything Right? Why do you refuse to save yourself?" However, the Secretary of the Criminal Ministry still only cried with trembling shoulders. "Listen, Ah Xiao, you are not an ordinary person. You are a personal maid who has been carefully selected. Since the time of the young lady's marriage, she has lived and died with her. The young lady committed suicide, why do you just watch it? Say it!" After the Dazang Bureau finished speaking, they looked at Zhichang and Zhifang again.

"Only the mother should interrogate this matter. Don't let Youfu and Mrs. Dian know about it. Don't let others in. When mother is interrogating, you should be careful." The Chief Zhi winked at Zhifang. Zhifang understood, and asked the maid to watch the wind in the corridor, while he stood at the door. "Ah Xiao, you don't want to hide it from us. Even if this incident didn't happen, the world would already be full of rumors. Did Edo send you a secret order?" "..." "You also know that the Youfu and Mrs. Dian have completely untied their knots. The Youfu's wife is as harmonious as honey, and the mother and child are very close. What's the matter, the young lady wants to commit suicide?" With an intimate expression, his tone became softer, "Ah Xiao, if you don't tell the truth, our mother and son will have to report this matter to You Mansion and Madam. In this way, things will become more complicated. Say, now No one else knows."

But the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment still whimpered in a low voice, and did not speak at all.It's no wonder, she stays at home all day long, and she is younger than Qianji. Helpless, the Dazang Bureau had no choice but to ask Qian Ji: "Young Madam, you have seen it too, and Xiao is tight-lipped. However, our mother and son cannot just leave like this. This place has been blessed by the late Taige Lord, and perhaps also received the great day. Asylum of Tathagata. Please don’t worry, Young Madam, tell me, why?” Qianji shook her head slightly, and said in a low voice, "I don't know why, but I suddenly just want to die."

The Zhichang couldn't help becoming irritable, the mother's question was too gentle, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment was too stubborn. "Since you don't say it, let me say it. There must be excessive orders from Edo. Do you think this matter can be hidden from me, Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs?" The governor wanted to reprimand the Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, but unexpectedly, these words shocked Qianji greatly.Her cheeks became pale, and her eyes grew more sad. The Chief Zhi felt that he had no way out, stopped his mother who was about to speak, and said, "I'm asking the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment." As he said that, he impatiently leaned forward and took a step or two forward, "Think about it, little one, even though the hatchback has been negotiated on the surface, the knot between the two parties has not yet been resolved, and the world thinks that it is very likely that the flames of war will reignite. Under such circumstances, once the Young Madam has something good or bad, what should I do? Guandong will be furious. They must think that someone has harmed the Young Madam. Once this misunderstanding occurs, all our previous painstaking efforts will be in vain. Although you don’t What's more, it's not like you don't even understand these things, right? Someone threatened you not to speak?" "No...no!" The Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment suddenly panted and raised his head, "It's the slave who is guilty, and it's all the slave's fault. If you want to die with the young lady, it's all the slave's fault." "Huh? You didn't stop it?" "Young madam has been worried recently, afraid of losing the blessing in front of her, she wanted to die quietly while still possessing it. Young madam said that's all, but the servant was also confused, and finally failed to stop it. The crime of slave is unforgivable, sir. Please forgive me." "Shut up! Do you think this trick of deceiving a child can be hidden from me?" "There must be something inside. Tell me, don't hide it any longer!" The Chief Zhi continued to question.He originally thought that although Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment was resolute, she was a little girl after all, and if she was severely questioned, she would definitely speak up.Now it seems that this little thing is hard to let go. "What the servant girl said is true." The Minister of the Ministry of Punishment mumbled tremblingly, and then lay down on the ground and cried bitterly. However, the more she cried and refused to answer, the more it showed that there was something hidden behind it.But the governor was helpless.Neither the Dazang Bureau nor the governor could question Qianji who was the master, so they had to ask Ah Xiao.But in fact, she seemed to be more difficult to speak than Qianji. Seeing this, Ono mother and son had no choice but to hand over the monitoring of Chihime to Toyomasa Okuhara, who was in charge of the inner court guard, and temporarily stepped down. The chief governor returned to the duty room anxiously and unhappy.Soon, Mrs. Dian passed him on.The Chief Zhi thought that it must be the mother who leaked about Qianji to Mrs. Dian.But Mrs. Dian is interrogating now, and she has no way of answering. It is best to put the matter aside for a while, and wait until the Ministry of Criminal Justice's mouth is pried open. Zhichang rushed to Mrs. Dian's room, but things were not as he expected. "Repair, come here." Mrs. Dian seemed to be in a good mood, and she was ordering someone to pack up the fast food, "The Youfu just came, and I just went back." "You House?" "Yes. We chatted for a while. He said that there is not enough food and rice in the city, and it is very troublesome." Chief Zhi couldn't help frowning, "Yes, there are too many mouths to eat." "That's right. I want to send someone to the Junfu to ask the Great Imperial Palace, how about it?" Chief Zhi looked up at Mrs. Dian, she didn't look like she was joking. "Then...then, I'm afraid..." "The Imperial Palace once sincerely said to me and my lord that if you have any troubles, just discuss it with him. After the war, there is often a shortage of food and rice. I want to tell him the truth and ask him to help. What do you think? ?” The chief is dumb.Unaware of his guilt in concealing the truth, he became angry.According to the information he had learned, after Ieyasu and Hidetada buried Chenghao, they wanted to turn around and attack Osaka again. "If I ask, even if I get rejected, it's fine. I just talked about this with the Dazang Bureau and Zheng Rongni. Spring is here, and it shouldn't be difficult to take a trip to Junfu." "Ma'am." Chief Zhi felt an inexplicable pain in his heart, "Do you think the Imperial Palace will still discuss with you now?" "Even if rejected,..." "It's not just being rejected! Once you send an envoy rashly, I'm afraid you won't be able to come back." After speaking, the governor himself was taken aback.In that case, Madam can't bear it, but now that Osaka is in the hands of others, don't others just do whatever they want? Sure enough, upon hearing this, Mrs. Dian raised her eyebrows, "That's weird. Why can't the people I sent come back safely? You also believe those rumors, thinking that the peace negotiation is a way to deceive our mother and child?" Once there is a disagreement, Mrs. Yodo's words are aggressive. Zhichang's face turned red up to the ears. "I didn't want to tell my wife these things." As soon as the words came out, the Chief Zhi regretted it again.These things should not be said casually, but he also thought of Mrs. Dian's temperament.Contrary to Zhichang's hesitation, Mrs. Dian is very persistent and decisive.Since sooner or later I have to say it, it is better to take the opportunity to explain everything in order to relieve the burden on my heart.Chief Zhi was heartbroken, and said, "Kan Dong's thinking is not what Madam said. Today, Young Madam is still trying to commit suicide." "Well, Ah Qian is going to commit suicide?" Mrs. Dian was stunned, her voice suddenly became low, "This...is it true?" "Why did Xiu lie? Of course it's true, and there are witnesses." Once he opened his mouth, Zhichang could no longer control his emotions. Zhichang's words did have a huge effect, Mrs. Dian's expression became stiff, and even her lips turned pale.She swept everyone around with stern eyes, and said, "Everyone, step back first. I have something to ask Mr. Xiu." When she spoke, angry veins had clearly protruded from her forehead, "Dazang and Zheng Rongni, you stay Down. The rest... Hurry up and back down!" Everyone hurriedly got up. "Repair." Mrs. Dian trembled her lips, and after everyone left, she changed a calm and terrifying tone, and said to Zhi Chang, "You always say things that I find hard to accept. You...you... Reconciliation, seems to be dissatisfied. Then, tell me, what happened to Ah Qian?" "I've made it clear that she wants to commit suicide." Chief Zhi said bluntly, relying on his usual pampering.This kind of situation is probably a common occurrence for them. "Why? When? Where... If you don't explain these clearly, how can you be clear?" "Since that's the case, I'll just say it. In front of the Tathagata statue, half an hour ago... it was Jiaci who discovered and stopped her." "Not enough!" Mrs. Dian's voice suddenly became sharp, "Why did Aqian commit suicide? If you don't explain it clearly, I will doubt your intention. Are you still dissatisfied with my reconciliation with Kanto?" "Hmph!" Chief Zhi blushed and stretched his neck.This is no longer talking about things, but a common quarrel between men and women in the world.This kind of quarrel has no serious reason at all, it is nothing more than confirming each other's affection through superficial accusations. "Ma'am has no reason to doubt me! Since you said that, I have to make it clear! Ma'am, do you think that if it is an ordinary thing, the young lady will commit suicide?" "Shut up! This... This is exactly what I want to ask you. Tell me, why did Ah Qian commit suicide?" "This must be Kanto...to assassinate Youfu or Madam...no, to assassinate the two of you." "Assassinate us?" "Otherwise, why is Young Madam doing this? Ma'am, listen, you must also know that the recent relationship between Youfu and Young Madam is very harmonious, which is really enviable. But the Guandong side doesn't know. Young Madam was originally sent by someone with ulterior motives. As long as the secret agent in Osaka gives an order, she can be poisoned or assassinated. Kanto firmly believes in this, so he issued a secret order." Mrs. Dian didn't know that this was the presumption of the governor, but she felt angry from the heart . "But the young lady's heart is no longer in Edo. Youfu has become the only husband she loves deeply in this world, and the lady has also become a virtuous mother-in-law. After thinking about it, she had to choose to abandon herself. Thinking about it, the young lady is really sad what." "Wait a minute!" Mrs. Dian yelled and interrupted the chief, "If there is such a secret order, how would you know it? I don't understand, the Imperial Palace and the general..." "Something Madam didn't understand has already happened, so the governor reminded Madam that it's time to make a calculation." "No, I don't believe it! Even if Aqian received such an order, it couldn't be the general and the Imperial Palace's intentions. It must be a wild guess made by a retainer like you...with ulterior motives." "I have ulterior motives?" "Hmph! Recently, you've been belittling me and You Fu, and you've been playing dirty tricks behind your back. This habit also exists in the Kanto area. This must be the trick of Doi Daiyaku and Honda Sado." Mrs. Yodo's unexpected words were like nails , Nailed straight into Zhichang's heart. The Chief shut up.There was a tremor in his heart, and he began to reflect coldly: Yes, this was neither what Qianji said, nor was it revealed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, it was just my guess.But who am I doing this for? Chief Zhi couldn't argue anymore, a layer of cold sweat oozed from his forehead.He was in a great embarrassment, but the words had already been spoken, and it was hard to take back. If it was as Madam said, wouldn't he become a villain who tells the truth? "Ma'am!" the Chief Zhi shouted loudly, eager to confess, "Yes, this is the chief's mistake. It may not be the general and the Imperial Palace, but their advisors who drove the young lady to death." "There is a saying that pity the parents of the world! Ah Jiang and I often tell me that the retainers on both sides are secretly stirring up trouble." "lady." "You understand? But, you still said Ah Qian..." "The chief has figured it out!" "Humph!" "Madam, please don't tell the young lady about this matter. The governor is thinking about it now, and the lady can send someone to Junfu to have a try." The chief governor, Qian Lu, changed his words.He hastily wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaned out, and continued: "It's just borrowing. Due to last year's war, the people in the leadership are extremely poor. Right now, please give more Buddha's heart. If you say it, at least you can figure out the big palace. Madam is wise, Madam is wise." After all, Chief Zhi is a favorite minister, and he is very familiar with how to coax Madam Dian.In fact, he also wanted to hear Ieyasu's reply. "I think so too." Seeing Chief Zhi give in, Mrs. Dian's voice softened, "Even if you are rejected, you won't lose face to You Fu." "Madam is wise. Then, what does Madam think of sending the Chang Gao Court?" "It's better to let the Chang Gaoyuan go too. It's better to let her be the official envoy, plus the Dazang Bureau and Zheng Rongni. They have already met with the Imperial Palace once. Listen to the answer of the Imperial Imperial Palace. I think, absolutely not It's so disappointing. We'll know in a few days how it turns out." "Madam's advice." Chief Zhi finally let go of his hanging heart.The slip of the tongue was made up for, and he even gained more: agree to this plan for now, and use it as an excuse to control the enraged ronin. "Madam hastily sent an envoy in order to inquire about the Great Imperial Palace's mind again. You might as well wait and see what the envoy has to say when he returns." Although this is an expedient measure, it is like a life-saving elixir for the governor who has always had no opinion - in order to survive, the drowning person will desperately grab even a leaf.