The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

The woman bowed gracefully, her fair face glistening with sweat.

A few strands of hair from her forehead were joined together and hung at the corner of her mouth. The hair looked like a rope, reminiscent of her groaning as she held a strand in her mouth.

Changqing hurriedly sat up straight.

The woman stood up and began to undress.

As the saying goes, lust is a double-edged sword. If he were to actually take advantage of someone's body, he would have a hard time explaining it to Nobunaga.

"Please rise, young lady."

Changqing quickly stopped her movements and helped her up. He could smell a faint fragrance.

He quickly took two steps back.

"May I ask your name, young lady?"

"My name is Amei, and I'm just a country woman," the woman said softly.

She acts very boldly, but speaks softly. Is this what they call a contrast?

The name "Amei" seems rather perfunctory. Could it be Kikuhime?

Lord Shingen is trying to trick me!

Changqing took the woman's hand and opened her palm.

Although her hands were soft, they had some calluses, unlike the hands of a high-ranking official's daughter.

She was taking off her clothes just now, and although I couldn't see her body clearly, I could tell she was very thin.

"Then you can stay!"

Amei nodded and sat down on the prepared mat.

She began to undress, and this time Changqing did not stop her.

Just as she was about to lean against Changqing, he pushed her away.

"I didn't ask you to sleep with me!"

Amei blinked her big eyes, clearly not understanding what Changqing meant.

"It's hot and humid here on summer nights, so I'm sure you won't catch a cold. Open the doors and windows to let some fresh air in, and you can stay here and feed the mosquitoes for me."

"Feeding mosquitoes?"

Amei smiled awkwardly and reached out to tug at Changqing's sleeve, thinking he was joking.

Changqing feigned anger: "Since Lord Xinxuan sent you to serve him, you should listen to me!"

Amei clicked her tongue, clearly somewhat angry. She considered herself quite attractive, but she never expected to encounter such a strange person.

She couldn't help but retort, "If you like men, I can report to our lord and get you a young and handsome one instead."

With just that one sentence, Changqing knew that she was by no means a country bumpkin.

Even if the smaller head controls the larger head, it depends on the situation.

"Don't worry about who I like. Since you're here, you're expected to behave. I don't want any men!"

Changqing didn't want to see a man waving a stick in front of him to feed mosquitoes.

If a mosquito bites the wrong place, you might feel nauseous for a whole year.

Changqing still remembers going to a bathhouse for a scrub in his previous life. The scrub master "went light" and made him lie face down on the mat while scrubbing his back.

There was a hole under the mat that allowed his face to pass through, and he watched as the stick swung wildly in rhythm with the back-rubbing motion, almost making him vomit.

Amei bit her lip, as if she had suffered a great injustice, and her big eyes gradually filled with tears.

Changqing opened the doors and windows and then draped a coat over her shoulders.

"Swatt the mosquitoes... I didn't ask you to actually feed them..."

Amei nodded and sat down next to Changqing.

……

The door wasn't closed last night, and Changqing opened his eyes as soon as it was light.

He found himself feeling heavy on his chest.

Amei had fallen asleep in his arms at some point, her slender arms still wrapped around his waist.

She was breathing evenly, with a few tear stains still at the corners of her eyes.

Changqing quickly looked down.

Thank goodness, I don't think I made any mistakes.

This woman had a long scar on her chest, so long that it seemed to go on forever...

Changqing gently moved his body, and Amei immediately woke up, jumping back like a startled deer, her face flushed.

"I...I..." she stammered incoherently.

He looked at Amei again; although her clothes were a little disheveled, she was dressed neatly.

She must have been unable to stay awake last night, and being a little cold, she couldn't help but move closer to him in her sleep.

"You can go back and report now." Changqing's face was as still as a deep well.

Amei bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just lowered her head.

"I see……"

She turned and walked away quickly.

……

In the morning, Nobuyuki Akiyama visited the guest room.

"Lord Shingen summoned me this morning and agreed to the marriage with the Oda family."

Changqing's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"The condition is that we wait until Prince Qimiaowan comes of age. Also, my lord wishes Lord Nobunaga a successful ascent to Kyoto."

"Thank you for your kind words!" Changqing nodded. "I will now express my gratitude to Lord Xinxuan!"

Historically, this marriage alliance was also facilitated by Akiyama Nobutomo.

Akiyama Nobuyuki waved his hand: "No need, my lord has already gone to Suruga. I will escort you back to Mino via the Kiso River."

After lunch, Nagayoshi, escorted by Akiyama Nobutomo and twenty Takeda cavalrymen, left Tsutsuzaki Castle and headed north towards Iwamura Castle.

……

At the same time, in the tea room of Tsutsuzaki-kan.

Takeda Shingen knelt in the main seat, with a simple tea set placed in front of him.

Opposite him was his wife, Lady Sanjo, and beside her was a small face, still flushed with lingering redness.

"Tell me, how was last night?" Shingen asked slowly as he washed the teacups.

Kikuhime's face seemed flushed.

"That rude bastard! He! He made me sit in the room all night, and even said something about 'feeding mosquitoes'!"

Even though Changqing eventually softened and told her to "swat mosquitoes," she still said she would "feed mosquitoes."

Shingen raised an eyebrow. "Didn't he do anything else?"

"No!" Kikuhime gritted her teeth. "He didn't even touch me, and he slept like a log! My lord, this is clearly disrespectful to the Takeda clan, and disrespectful to me!"

Shingen laughed, his laughter low and cheerful.

"Why is my lord laughing?" Kiku asked, puzzled, her eyes filled with even more grievance.

"That Mori Nagayoshi is indeed no ordinary person."

Shingen pushed the brewed tea towards her. "Kiku, do you know why he did this?"

Kikuhime pursed her lips and remained silent.

"He must have guessed your identity. Although I had you disguise yourself as a maid, the daughters of the Akiyama family are ultimately different. If he actually touched you, it would be like giving him leverage. Hearing about his exploits, I knew he was an obstacle to my future trip to Kyoto, but I didn't expect his response to be so flawless. This is no ordinary person!"

Kikuhime remained silent, but her clenched fist loosened slightly.

The tea room fell silent, save for the faint murmur of a startled deer in the courtyard.

After a long silence, Kikuhime asked in a low voice, "If my lord had touched me last night, would you really have intended for me to marry him?"

"I would never let the daughter of a high-ranking official marry someone who knows he will die!"

Shingen laughed.

If Kikuhime were to be married off at this critical juncture, Nobunaga would likely have made her a widow before he even marched on Kyoto.

Kikuhime nodded thoughtfully, but quickly frowned again.

"But that Mori Nagayoshi... I just can't swallow this! How dare he treat me so disrespectfully!"

Shingen looked at her and suddenly asked, "Kiku, you've always said you wanted to marry a world-renowned hero. So, what kind of person do you think qualifies as a hero?"

"Like my lord or father, a hero who is brave and skilled in battle, possesses exceptional wisdom, and commands a region," Kikuhime answered without hesitation.

"And what about Mori Nagayoshi? Ever since he rose to power at Okehazama, it only took him four short years to help that big fool conquer Mino. With exceptional martial arts skills and remarkable intelligence, wouldn't you call him a hero?"

Kikuhime was stunned.

"He's twenty-five years old this year, already a senior retainer of the Oda clan, and a bulwark for eastern Mino. My idea of ​​marrying you to him was to save myself some trouble later!"

Shingen took a sip of tea, and the tea room fell silent once again.

Why does my lord humiliate my man so much, yet he thinks so highly of him?

Suddenly, Kiku-hime raised her head, a resolute light shining in her eyes: "My lord, I've changed my mind."

"Oh?"

"I don't want him as my husband anymore," Kikuhime said, enunciating each word clearly, her hand gesturing in the air as if holding a naginata.

"I will defeat him on the battlefield. One day, I will personally follow my lord and father into Mino, confront him on the battlefield, and then... personally cut off his head."

"That's ambitious! Hahaha!" Shingen laughed loudly.