I'm really not an old sword

"Yes, I checked with them, and the person they described is very similar to the one you asked me to look for the other day."

"Yes," Fujiwara no Michinaga murmured, "It's about time we get there."

A few rays of sunset and the crowing of roosters shone on the lake outside the window, and the breeze created a few ripples.

Fujiwara no Michinaga closed the book and stood up: "Then send someone to look for him."

"Lord Minamoto no Yorinobu?" asked the servant.

Although Minamoto no Yorimitsu led the Minamoto clan to pledge allegiance to Fujiwara no Michinaga, this "loyalty" was more like mutual respect based on common interests.

Logically speaking, Fujiwara no Michinaga could not ask Minamoto no Yorinobu to find a concubine who was not married to a lower-class noble.

But if there was a young man whom his sister, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, admired so highly, then Minamoto no Yorinobu would surely be happy to meet him in person. After all, perhaps this young man could solve the most troublesome problem of their Minamoto clan...

"No." Fujiwara no Michinaga shook his head: "I will go myself."

......

When she woke up early, Fujiharako woke up in Lin Qingsu's arms.

it's too cold.

Although it was late summer and the weather was warm, it was still very cold for Fujiharako, a noble lady who had rarely been out, especially the cold wind in the mountains. In addition, the poison in her body had not yet been eliminated, so Fujiharako started shivering from the cold as soon as she fell asleep in the middle of the night.

Lin Qingsu simply hugged her to keep warm.

Fujimoto was reluctant at first, but after Lin Qingsu told her the story of 'sitting in someone's arms without getting distracted', she obediently lay in his arms to keep warm.

The price was that Lin Qingsu told her a few short stories about idioms that she had never heard of.

Lin Qingsu always felt that she was bored and had nothing to do, so she found something to do. She couldn't feel anything through the thick clothes, but she had to admit that it was quite comfortable to sleep with a doll in her arms at night.

Early in the morning, the two of them ate the barbecue that they had not finished last night. As expected, the eldest lady Fujiharako didn't want to eat anymore after just two bites. Then Lin Qingsu didn't care that she was hungry and took her out of the forest directly.

......

"You stay here and don't move."

Lin Qingsu drew a large circle with a radius of two meters under Fujimoto's feet.

"Don't leave the circle until you hear a crack."

"I understand." Fujimoto didn't understand, but nodded obediently. "Where are you going?"

"Let's go back and kill the spider." The noble girl opened her mouth slightly. She really wanted to go with him, because she was worried about herself and him.

But in the end she couldn't say it, and lowered her head as she watched Lin Qingsu disappear into the forest.

Indeed, I am useless.

No matter how you look at it, someone like him is a better match for Lord Minamoto no Raikou.

Time always flies by when you're daydreaming.

Fujimoto was thinking about all kinds of things around Lin Qingsu. Sometimes she was worried about his safety, sometimes she lamented why she couldn't get his heart, and sometimes she thought about the story she made up about him and Minamoto no Raikou. She had always been standing in the circle from beginning to end. Last night, because she was injured and frightened, she didn't care about etiquette and sat on the ground. Now she was too embarrassed to do such a thing again.

Suddenly, Fujimoto felt the ground beneath her feet shaking violently.

She turned her head hurriedly, the dust raised by the horses' hooves was above the hustle and bustle of the sky, and soon a group of knights appeared in front of her.

"Are you Miss Fujiharako?" The leader looked at her for a while and asked directly.

"it's me."

Fujimoto was a little surprised.

Although his 'fiancé' held a high official rank, it was only comparable to his father's. With his official rank, he was not qualified to mobilize so many knights.

"Where is the black-haired swordsman who took you away?"

"What do you want to do with him?" Fujimoto looked at them warily.

The leading knight was surprised by Fujimoto's reaction, but then he couldn't help laughing and said, "Don't worry, we're not planning on targeting your lover."

"We are Fujiwara no Michinaga's men. Following the orders of the Master, we have come ahead of the main force to find you, young lady, and the black-haired swordsman."

"Feel sorry."

"It's alright, I'm just too concerned." The knight waved his hand. "Now, can you tell me where that black-clad swordsman went? My master is very interested in him."

......

"He went back to look for the spider?" Fujiwara no Michinaga was stunned.

"Yes, Miss Zezi said that after he sent her out, he returned to the mountains."

"Returned to the mountains?" Fujiwara Michinaga asked curiously, "Then how did they survive last night?"

"We found an open area in the forest and rested for the night."

"The spider didn't find it?"

Fujiwara no Michinaga asked curiously, the spider had been causing trouble near this official road for a long time, and he had a lot of information in his hands.

In fact, the most troublesome thing is not the huge female spider, but the small spiders that are as numerous as mountains and seas.

With so many little spiders searching, Fujiwara no Michinaga was very curious about how he managed to stay in one place for a whole night without being discovered and leave smoothly.

"She said she knew Yin and Yang, but from what I observed she was hiding something."

"Hide it?" Fujiwara Michigami was startled. "What does that woman look like?"

"A beauty of the country."

Hearing this, Fujiwara no Michigami said with a smile: "Let her come to see me."

After a while, the servant came over with Fujiharako.

Fujiwara no Michinaga carefully looked at the woman in front of him.

Her jet-black hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders, and her face was pretty. Although she was a little flustered under the sharp gazes of the surrounding warriors, she remained calm.

Even Fujiwara no Michinaga couldn't help but praise him in his heart.

In the Heian period, a woman's charm was not determined primarily by her appearance, but rather by her education, her proficiency in waka and kanji, and her long black hair.

The woman in front of me is absolutely perfect in terms of appearance and temperament.

"Fujiwara Nobutaka is not worthy of you."

A look of confusion appeared in Fujiharako's eyes.

She really didn't expect that the famous Fujiwara no Michinaga, the actual ruler behind the country, looked so young.

I didn't expect that this would be the first sentence he said when we met.

"I will help you cancel your engagement." Fujiwara no Michinaga added, "Don't worry about your father's affairs. I will send someone to take care of it."

Fujihara lowered her head slightly and said, "Thank you, sir."

If it was before she met Lin Qingsu, she would definitely be very happy.

But at this moment, there was only confusion in his heart, wondering why this Taoist priest didn't ask anything but instead told him all this.

"I heard you are proficient in music, Chinese poetry, and Japanese songs?"

“I dare not master it, but I have a basic understanding of it.”

"No need to be so modest." Fujiwara no Michinaga said with a smile, "I have a pretty good eye for people. If you could understand a little bit, there wouldn't be many people in the capital who could call themselves masters."

Fujimoto became increasingly confused.

"I have a daughter, Akiko, who is favored by the Emperor because of her beauty. Now I am the Empress. I wonder if Miss Fujiwara is willing to be my daughter's teacher?" Fujiwara no Michinaga said directly without saying much.

Fujimoto was dizzy, but she was Fujimoto after all, so she managed to calm down and agreed immediately.

"Please ask Miss Fujiwara to come into the carriage and rest."

After the maid who brought him with him brought Fujiwara no Kaneko into the carriage, Fujiwara no Michinaga gave the order immediately.

"Go back to Beijing."

"Sir, don't you want to wait for that person?"

"My attitude has been made clear. If he is willing, then it will come naturally. If he is not willing, then it cannot be forced."

The servant nodded, looked at the carriage, and said in a low voice, "My lord, have you taken a fancy to Miss Fujiharako?"

"She is indeed a rare beauty. If I had met her earlier, I would have been unable to restrain myself."

Fujiwara no Michinaga sighed and asked, "How would you react if you were suddenly told that you were going to marry an old woman who you had never met and who was older than your mother?"

"Probably not."

"Then have you ever thought about her reaction when I broke off her engagement just now?" Fujiwara no Michinaga laughed and said, "I'm sure she must be holding a letter from that person to Minamoto no Yorinobu."

The servant suddenly understood: "I understand."

"Treat Miss Fujiwara well, and have someone tell Akiko as well. Don't neglect her and offend the adopted son of our Heian Dynasty's future Shogun Minamoto." Fujiwara no Michinaga paused, looked in the direction of Heian-kyo and said meaningfully.

"When the time comes, I'll have to deal with that vixen my nephew Xianguang sent into the palace. Maybe I'll even need his help."

Chapter 8 News and Cooperation from the Directorate-General

Lin Qingsu felt that she was a complete idiot for rushing to Heian-kyo non-stop these days.

On that day, I went into the mountains and killed the monster. I approached the giant spider while it was sleeping and killed it by setting it on fire. Then I saw Fujiwara no Michinaga and his men coming.

After confirming that they had no ill intentions towards Fujiharako, Lin Qingsu left. After a day's journey, she arrived in Heian-kyo and immediately inquired about Fujiharako's news with the intention of seeing him off to the west.

It's easy to find out about her.

After a little questioning, Lin Qingsu learned that Fujiwara no Michinaga had broken off her engagement and sent her to the palace to be a lady-in-waiting to his daughter, Fujiwara no Akiko (the Empress), and taught her Buddhism and ancient Chinese books such as the Nihon Shoki and the Collected Works of Bai Juyi.

Fujiwara no Michinaga also said that he greatly admired the knight who solved the problem of Sensoji Temple and killed the giant spider. As long as he was willing to meet him, he would personally grant him a huge sum of gold and a mansion in the inner city. If the knight was willing, he would ask the emperor to grant him an official position.

"Were you recognized?"

Lin Qingsu also gradually understood why Fujiwara no Michinaga treated Fujiwara no Oriko so kindly. It turned out that he was not attracted to her.

It's because of him.

It is estimated that Minamoto no Raikou communicated with him about his affairs through letters, and then after calculating the time and distance, it was easy to think that the person who saved Murasaki Shikibu was him, and therefore he declared that both things were done by the same person.

But Lin Qingsu didn't want to go.

I am moved, but I dare not.

He was not afraid of Fujiwara no Michinaga. Although they had never met, he could trust him to some extent with Minamoto no Raikou's guarantee.

Moreover, the other party not only rushed to the wilderness in person that day, but also treated Fujiwara no Haruko, a daughter of a middle-class noble family, with courtesy and sent her to the palace to be a lady-in-waiting to the empress's daughter. You should know that in history, Fujiwara no Michinaga invited Fujiwara no Haruko to be a lady-in-waiting in the palace only after she created "The Tale of Genji", and now Fujiwara no Haruko is not famous, so these are already very polite.

But Lin Qingsu was afraid.

Because Abe Haruaki is missing!

Abe Haruaki is gone.

He suddenly disappeared two years ago, and since then, the number of ghosts and monsters around Heian-kyō has increased dramatically, and Oeyama has become chaotic. There are even monsters causing trouble on the official roads and even in Senso-ji Temple.

This was probably why Fujiwara no Michinaga was so anxious to find him.

Showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing.

It would be fine if he could really deal with the monster in Sensoji Temple by himself, but Lin Qingsu knew who he was. He could bully small monsters like spiders, but not to mention Shuten Douji in Oeyama, he might not even be able to beat Ibaraki.

Not to mention there's a bigger monster hiding behind it!

If someone said that the incident at Sensō-ji Temple was caused by Shuten and Minamoto no Raikou of Ibaraki, Lin Qingsu would never believe it even if he were beaten to death. Even if those two ghosts were similar to Minamoto no Raikou and different from the two in Chaldea, if those two had that kind of brains, Heian-kyo would not be called Heian-kyo now, but Oe-kyo.

So, to sum up, without Abe Haruaki as his big father, Lin Qingsu would not dare to show up easily, let alone go to the Fujiwara family and be instigated by Fujiwara Michinaga to the point of attracting everyone's attention?

He is not afraid of death, but he does not want to die, and there is no need to seek death.

So at least he didn't plan to show up until his good mother Minamoto no Raikou returned to Heian-kyo.

So from then on, Lin Qingsu hid his identity, hung out in pubs, and inquired about news every day. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

"Alas, the world is becoming increasingly chaotic."