I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Text Chapter 299 Shimabara Elegy

"Please rest here."

After saying this, the madam with a weird smile left the room quickly, leaving only Ogata and this young woman alone.

"Master Yi Dao Zhai."

After the bustard retreated, the young woman saluted Ogata again.

"This place is very safe, please rest here."

"...It seems that you know my name." Ogata said as he untied the big Shitian from his waist, and sat cross-legged in front of the woman.

"Well." The woman nodded, "Master A Gong has told me about you just now, don't worry, everyone in this auspicious house is only obedient to Mr. Xin, you stay here, official errands and rewards The hunters can't do anything to you."

Ogata only remembered for a moment, and then remembered who "Miya-sama" was - the dwarf who led Ogata to Yoshiya just now.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I said so much, I forgot to introduce myself."

The woman saluted Ogata again.

"Nujia Dieyin, please give me more advice."

"Please advise." Ogata nodded slightly.

"Would you like some wine, please?"

"No need." Ogata said without thinking.

"Master Yidaosai, you don't have to be so restrained." Dieyin smiled slightly, "Master Agong has given orders to the servants just now - take good care of Master Ogata Yidaosai."

"So you have to cherish the Nu family." Dieyin said in a half-joking tone, "The Nu family is the number one in this auspicious house, and ordinary people are not even qualified to see me."

"Then I'm very honored." Ogata smiled slightly, "I was able to share the same room with Yoshiya's top card."

"No, no, no." Dieyin shook her head, "I am the one who feels honored. When I learned that I would take care of Ogata Yidaosai, I was so happy that I was about to cry."

You are too exaggerated——Ogata was about to say this when he suddenly heard a painful groan from the next room.

As soon as this groan sounded, the expression of Dieyin who was sitting in front of Ogata changed instantly.

"Excuse me……"

Dieyin lowered her head and bowed lightly to Ogata, then picked up her clothes and hurried towards the east sliding door.

The rooms are connected to each other with paper sliding doors - this is also one of the characteristics of Japanese architecture of this era.

The room where the two of Ogata stayed was connected to the next room, and one could enter the east room only by opening the sliding paper door on the east side.

After Dieyin opened the paper sliding door on the east side of the room, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly at the scene in the next room.

In the center of the room is a quilt, and a beautiful woman is lying in the quilt.

This beautiful woman is still very young, about 23 or 24 years old.

However——this woman's beautiful face was covered with red spots at this moment.

"Syphilis..." Ogata murmured softly at a volume that only he could hear clearly.

In this era when there is no penicillin and the level of medical care is backward, if you get a disease like syphilis, there is basically only one way to go-wait for death...

Dieyin quickly walked to the side of the woman suffering from syphilis in three steps at the same time, and helped the woman up from the quilt.

Then he picked up the water cup placed by the bedside, fed the sick woman with water skillfully, and stroked the back of the sick woman.

With the efforts of Dieyin, the painful moaning of the sick woman gradually subsided.

After the sick woman's breathing stabilized again, Dieyin helped the sick woman lie back in the bedding as if relieved from a heavy burden.

"Sorry, Ogata-sama, I made you laugh..."

Dieyin turned her head and smiled apologetically at Ogata.

"This is my best friend in Jiwu—Chufeng."

"We met for the first time." Ogata held his Da Shitian with his right hand, and knelt beside Chufeng's bedside, "I'm Ogata."

Chufeng opened his eyes slightly.

After taking a look at Ogata, a faint smile appeared on Chufeng's face.

"Are you...the customer who ordered my sister...?"

Bitterness and embarrassment flashed across Dieyin's face.

Just when Dieyin was thinking about how to explain to Chufeng who Ogata was, Ogata said without hesitation just after Chufeng's voice fell:

"That's right."

The smile on Chufeng's face became more intense.

"Thank you...for ordering my sister..."

"Chufeng." Dieyin said at this time, "You continue to rest, and Master Ogata and I will not disturb your rest for now."

"Hmm..." Even though he had lost all strength in his body, Chu Feng still nodded his head vigorously.

After exiting Chufeng's room and returning to the room where Ogata and Dieyin were just now, Dieyin immediately bowed to Ogata and apologized:

"Master Ogata, thank you for smoothing things over for me just now..."

The voices of Ogata and Dieyin have always been very quiet, and Chufeng has fallen asleep again now, so there is no need to worry that Chufeng in the next room will hear their conversation.

"It's just a trivial matter, so you don't need to thank me specifically."

"...I'm sorry." Dieyin knelt back on the tatami again, with bitterness on her face, "Just now... let you see an unsightly picture..."

"Master Ogata, the scene you saw just now is the appearance of most wandering girls on their deathbed..."

"For a long time, there are almost no people who can survive after getting that kind of disease..."

"The doctor has already told me... Chu Feng won't live long..."

When she said this, Dieyin had a calm expression on her face, as if she was talking about something insignificant.

It's just that - Dieyin's hands that were naturally resting on her legs slowly tightened at this time, and tightly grasped the kimono fabric on her legs.

"But Chufeng is lucky... She still has me, and my friend who is willing to pay for her and help her find a doctor..."

"If not, she will be thrown into the dirty plain to fend for herself..."

Hearing Dieyin's words, Ogata couldn't help but think back to the woman he saw in the filthy plain just now, who also had syphilis and died by the side of the road...

"Whether it's Yoshiwara in Edo or Shimabara here, it's all like this—once you enter here and become a wandering girl, you can't go out again."

Ogata and Dieyin happened to be sitting by the window at this time.

When saying this, Dieyin turned her head and looked out the window.

Ogata followed Dieyin's gaze and looked towards where Dieyin was looking.

What Dieyin was looking at now was the tall wall surrounding Shimabara.

"Just enter here and be a wandering girl. If you want to go out, there are only three ways left."

"The first method: work until the age of 28. According to the regulations of the shogunate: we Yoshihara and Shimabara girls can retire as long as they work until the age of 28."

"The second method: save enough money to redeem yourself, or someone is willing to pay to redeem you."

"The third method: die."

"28 years old..." Dieyin's tone seemed to be talking about astronomical figures, "There are not many girls who are lucky enough to live to be 28 years old."

"Even if you are lucky enough to escape all diseases and live to be 28 years old, it doesn't mean you will be free."

"After reaching the age of 28, although you can retire, it does not mean that you can rest."

"Our daily expenses for food and clothing, etc., are all recorded in our personal account of Younv."

"If you don't pay off these debts, you can never get free."

"So even at the age of 28, when you can retire, you can regain your freedom in name, but if you don't pay off these debts, you still have to stay here and do all kinds of hard work to pay off the debts."

"Most of the wandering girls are like Chu Feng, who got sick before the age of 28, and then waited to die slowly."

"That's why the vast majority of wandering girls can't get out of this 'cage' until they die..."

"I can't get out of this 'cage', and I can't even participate in the Gion Festival..."

"Every household in Kyoto can watch the 'Yamaboko Parade' tonight, but we caged birds can't even hear the sound."

"But fortunately—this year's Gion Festival finally allows us caged birds to participate."

"Master Ogata, do you know why we caged birds can also participate in this year's Gion Festival?"

"I don't know." Xu Fang shook his head in confusion.

"Because this year's Gion Festival has more fireworks."

Hearing Dieyin's words, Ogata immediately showed understanding.

Hearing Dieyin's words, Xufang immediately remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

"After tonight's 'Yamaboko Parade' ends, there will be a grand fireworks display."

"This is the idea of ​​Lord Kamiyama Koshinosuke. Adjust the 'Yamaboko Parade' to tonight, and after the 'Yamaboko Parade' is over, set off fireworks that can illuminate the entire Kyoto."

"I don't know what people in other parts of Kyoto think of Kamiyama-sama, but all the girls in Shimabara are very grateful to Kamiyama-sama."

"Watching the fireworks with other Kyotoites—it's the only way we wandering girls can participate in the Gion Festival."

"Right now, all the girls in Shimabara are looking forward to the fireworks tonight."

Dieyin pouted her chin out of the window.

"Master Ogata, look."

Ogata looked up.

The place Dieyin pointed to just now is the window on the first floor of the Younv's House opposite Jiwu.

The dozens of wandering girls sitting behind the window were all excited at this moment.

Because there are no customers outside the window, these dozen or so wandering girls are chatting there at this moment.

It's just that because of the distance, Ogata couldn't hear what the dozen or so wandering girls were talking about.

"They must be talking about the fireworks tonight..."

"I think those who are looking forward to the fireworks tonight are definitely not just us wandering girls."

"Whether it's a wandering girl, a farmer, or a craftsman, it's not easy for ordinary people like us to live well..."

"We ordinary people, throughout the year, there are not many moments where we can boldly relax and entertain like tonight."

"So... everyone will cherish tonight..."

After quietly listening to Dieyin's sad sentiment, several faces appeared in Ogata's mind one by one.

In addition to the faces of these people appearing in Ogata's mind, the words that these people said to Ogata echoed in Ogata's ears again.

The first face that popped up in Ogata's mind was that of Granny Cake, whom he met when he was staying overnight in the outskirts of Kyoto last night.

(Tomorrow is the busiest day of the Gion Festival, so I can’t help but join in the fun. Hohohoho~ I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.)

The second face that came to Ogata's mind was the old man named "Hirajo" who enthusiastically introduced the history of the Gion Festival and Yamaboko to him and Atachi.

(In these years, everyone has had a hard time... First there was the 'Daylight Famine', and then there was the 'Tianming Fire'. Everyone was tortured by these disasters one after another... Now finally there is a Everyone is looking forward to the joyous day...)

The third face that came to Ogata's mind was Mucun.

(I also feel that the murder case that has stirred up the restlessness in Kyoto is not as simple as it seems on the surface. The mastermind who planned this murder case is very likely to have other plans...)

This is exactly what Mucun had said to him when they parted from Xiyuan just now.

The last face that came to Ogata's mind...was Machi.

The voice that rang in Ogata's ear this time, besides A-Machi's voice, was also his own voice.

(...Amachi, let's watch the "Yamaboko Parade" together tonight.)

(OK!)

...

...

Snapped!

Ogata lifted up Da Shitian, stamped the bottom of Da Shitian's handle on the ground, and then slowly stood up using Da Shitian as a stick.

"Master Ogata?" Dieyin showed doubts.

"...Dieyin, let me tell you the truth."

"In fact, from the beginning to the end, I never thought that I really wanted to hide here until the limelight completely passed."

What Ogata said was true, he never thought of hiding here until Kyoto lifted the city-wide arrest warrant for him.

"I'm not going to just sit by and do nothing."

"The reason why I hid here temporarily is just to rest and let my chaotic mind take a moment to rest."

"Inexplicably, I took the blame. The more I think about it, the angrier I get."

"I can't swallow this breath without trying to find out who is behind the scenes who caused me to be blamed."

"I've had enough rest now, so—I'll go first."

Dieyin didn't understand what Ogata said just now, words like "blame the blame" and the like.

But Dieyin roughly understood the meaning of what Ogata said just now.

After looking up and down Ogata several times with astonished eyes, a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Master Ogata, since you are determined to find out who is behind the scenes that brought you here, do you have any clues now?"

"No." Ogata said without thinking, "I plan to find a friend who might have some clues first."

The friend Ogata was referring to was Fumo.

Fuma has a wide network of contacts in Kyoto, and he is the only person Ogata can think of who can help him now.

"...Master Ogata. My family...maybe have some clues."

Dieyin showed hesitation.

But after several hesitations, a look of determination emerged in Dieyin's pupils.

"About half a month ago, a group of guests visited our lucky house."

"I happened to be one of the tour girls who were in charge of picking up customers at the time."

"While they were drinking, one of them seemed to be drinking too much, and blurted out this sentence: Everything is ready, just waiting for the day when the 'Yamaboko Parade' and 'Fireworks' will be held."

"As soon as this guest said this, he was immediately stopped by the rest of his companions."

"The slave family didn't pay much attention to this sentence at the time, and just regarded it as the crazy words of a drunkard."

"I remember the identity of this group of people."

"This group of people are disciples of the Metaphysics Hall!"

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