Chapter 648

PS：Today the Tenshi was again dragged off to a blind date, so there's only one update—super double chapter of 5400 characters coming up!

On the north bank of Kawaguchiko, away from the bustling tourist area, at the end of a private lane flanked by century-old cedars, lies the secluded "Wogui Pavilion" Hot Spring Inn.

Though the inn is small, with only eight independent guest rooms, it is famed far and wide for its superb location (each room enjoys an unobstructed view of Mount Fuji), top-tier kaiseki cuisine, and the guests' favorite "Tokugawa Legacy Hot Spring."

Legend says that Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his later years while campaigning or touring Kanto, often came here to soak his arrow wounds and fatigue in the hot springs, and personally inscribed the two characters "Wogui," meaning to linger here in joy and forget to return. The inn's largest and most luxurious "Goten no Ma" was repaired and expanded on the original site where Ieyasu once stayed.

When Uesugi Muneyuki's Lexus, handed down from his father, glided into the tranquil courtyard of "Wogui Pavilion," the female proprietor in traditional attire was already waiting at the genkan with two attendants.

The proprietor, about fifty, possessed a warm yet capable demeanor, clearly having been informed in advance of the guests' extraordinary status.

"Mr. Uesugi, Mrs. Uesugi, welcome to Wogui Pavilion. You've had a long journey." The proprietor bowed deeply: "Your arrival brings glory to my humble shop. The 'Goten no Ma' has been prepared for you, and following your instructions, no other guests have been arranged. For the coming week, the entire rear mountain hot spring area will be reserved exclusively for you."

Uesugi Minami had already taken off her splendid wedding dress and Western attire, now wearing a finely tailored ivory MaMara

woolen overcoat, with a light gray high-necked knitted dress underneath, her long hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders.

On her face bore the special radiance of a newlywed woman, somewhere between languid and glowing; the sharp intensity of her former days as a Metropolitan Police Department management officer had been softened into a more restrained, steady charm. She gave a slight nod in return, her poise reflecting both the grace of a noble daughter and her usual competence: "Thank you for your trouble, I am deeply grateful."

Uesugi Muneyuki wore a dark gray casual suit, having shed the dual pressures of wedding and police work, his brow relaxed considerably, though his eyes remained still and sharp. He naturally accepted the hot towel proffered by the proprietor, while glancing around.

The inn's interior is classic sukiya-zukuri style, making extensive use of wood, bamboo, and washi paper; the light is soft, the air filled with the tranquil scent of aged wood, tatami mats, and faint incense. Indeed hanging on the wall is a replica rubbing of Tokugawa Ieyasu's "Wogui" characters, the brushwork vigorous and strong.

The couple exchanged smiles.

This is probably much like the so-called "Qiánlóng's Southern Tour," where every shop claims to have the footsteps and praise of the Ten Fully Elder.

Uesugi Muneyuki thought: what the Japanese most admire and love to boast about, aside from modern figures like Ito Hirobumi, are the famous Three Heroes of the Warring States—Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

However, from different eras and backgrounds, one can also see shifts in Japanese mentality and social environment.

First is Toyotomi Hideyoshi; let me say something everyone dislikes: the era the Japanese most admire Hideyoshi is the Meiji and early Showa periods, especially when they glorify his Bunroku-Keicho Campaign (i. e., Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea) as that era's glorious propaganda of foreign aggression.

Besides that, the Japanese like Hideyoshi also because he rose from nothing—from Kinoshita Tokichiro to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, from peasant ashigaru to ruler of all under heaven, a legend rare in Japanese history. Setting aside so many complex factors, Hideyoshi is a hero, a true hero.

And the Japanese fondness for Oda Nobunaga needs no elaboration—his life is full of legend, and his aura of conquering lands and spreading martial rule under heaven naturally earned the highest praise in Japan's golden age and economic boom.

Nobunaga even died in such a legendary way, a lifetime of legend completed.

However, when the boom ended, when the bubble economy burst, when Japan fell into the lost ten, twenty,

thirty years, when wages stagnated from the mid-90s onward, when the yen's purchasing power halved from the 80s to now, Tokugawa Ieyasu—the final unifier among the Three Heroes—has gained ever more affirmation and admiration from the Japanese.

Grand narratives faded, the era of small happiness arrived, and ordinary people trying to make a living increasingly favored Ieyasu.

Ieyasu is a decent man. JPG

This really isn't nonsense; compared to the first two, Nobunaga was throughout a quasi-human creature, Hideyoshi in his later years became quasi-human, while Ieyasu's rule consistently maintained restraint, clarity, and benevolence—never indulging in reckless rewards or punishments, never stingy or ungrateful, never massacring the innocent.

Why did the Western Army lose? Is it because everyone hates Ishida Mitsunari?

No, it's because they hate the Taikō Prince!

But those who dare hate the Taikō Prince all went to report on Mount Koya and the source of the Rokujō River, so nobody dares hate the Taikō Prince, thus they can only hate Mitsunari!

And if it weren't for Toyotomi Hideyori consistently refusing transfer of domain, refusing to abolish the Toyotomi Administration, plus Ieyasu's failing health and the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada insisting, even the old turtle wouldn't plan to wipe out the little monkey.

And the Edo Shogunate founded by Ieyasu is also the first time in Japanese history that truly meant everyone had enough to eat and genuine peace, although there would be a famine every few or ten-odd years, and although occasional natural and man-made disasters would occur, the Edo period is indeed a very stable and rare peaceful era in Japanese history. Ieyasu, though he told the shogunate not to let everyone eat too full, also warned a million times not to let anyone starve!

If I say the Qing had a "33-tael rule"—that a family of five needs 36 taels a year to maintain basic sustenance, so letting them earn only 33 taels keeps them forever in hunger and unable to repay old debts while constantly borrowing new—then Ieyasu's design is the "39-tael rule": let the commoners barely achieve subsistence, then have a little surplus money; this surplus can't do much, nor can it be easily accumulated, but compared to other rulers, Ieyasu really was quite decent.

That is, in the Edo period, town neighborhoods began hosting big-eater contests, something unimaginable in other Japanese eras!

Besides, the Edo Shogunate-led "Mito School" and "Rangaku" added a splash of brightness to the bloody slaughterfields of centuries of warrior regimes, washing away much of the blood.

The system Ieyasu designed even restrained the shogun himself—countless rules and regulations, daimyo and domain lords equally suppressed, the warrior class lived uncomfortably, townsfolk and farmers could only occasionally snack and stroll markets beyond mere subsistence, and everyone, under the condition of mutual endurance for the country, thus achieved the Edo three-hundred-year peace and the final bloodless surrender, because in the end the anti-shogunate faction themselves found that they and the Tokugawa Shogunate had no irreconcilable deep hatred.

Ieyasu, you are so great!

Uesugi Muneyuki gazed at Tokugawa Ieyasu's calligraphy, unable to help thinking.

For you, I will eat sea bream tempura tonight!

And I will eat three big heads in one go!

After settling into the "Goten no Ma," Minami Ojou-sama pushed open the shoji door facing the garden and Mount Fuji, drew a deep breath of clear air. In the distance, the snow-capped Mount Fuji stood sharp against the afternoon sun, tranquil and solemn.

Behind her, Muneyuki lightly encircled her waist, his chin resting in her neck's hollow.

"At last————only we remain." He sighed low, his warm breath brushing past her ear.

Minami relaxed her body, leaning into his embrace, closing her eyes.

"Mm."

Damn Mai Xuejie! Damn the Shinto Chief Priest!

Don't come again!

After the brief warmth, Minami turned, poked his chest with her finger, her face bearing a hint of newlywed wife's playful chiding and warning: "Say it first—this week, no mentioning any cases, no thinking about any autopsy reports, no taking emergency calls from the Metropolitan Police Department—unless it's a sky-falling big deal."

Uesugi Muneyuki chuckled: "You don't want to bring it up? I don't want to either!"

He immediately raised his hands in surrender: "Yes, ma'am—management official—no, lady."

Before dinner, Minami soaked alone for a while in the open-air bath attached to her room, floored with cypress wood.

The hot spring water was silky, carrying a faint sulfur scent, indeed possessing the miraculous effect of relieving fatigue.

She gazed at her vaguely visible body in the steaming air, still bearing a few traces from her wedding night, cheeks warm. Becoming "Uesugi Minami" on the first day, she felt somewhat strange, as if some heavy title had been lifted, only to be replaced by another more private, warmer crown.

When she wrapped herself in a yukata and returned to the inner room, she found Muneyuki already prepared pre-dinner drinks. On the low table sat chilled sake and two plates of delicate side dishes. In his hand, he held a pair of unopened stockings—not the bold pure-white jacquard swan velvet from yesterday's wedding, but a pair that, in the dim indoor light, shimmered with mysterious pearl luster—black silk stockings.

The packaging was extremely simple, yet the quality was instantly recognizable as extraordinary.

"This is————" Minami raised an eyebrow.

"Wolford, pearl-light Lycra, custom-made." Uesugi Muneyuki approached her, his gaze sincere and appreciative: "My favorite material and color. Wear them for me, okay? Mina~mi Lady~"

The last two words he spoke low, heavy and full of temptation.

Uesugi Minami's cheeks flushed instantly.

She stared at him, recalling last night's "grand words" and this morning's absurdity, then looked at the pair of stockings before her—obviously valuable, full of suggestion.

After becoming a wife, it seemed even refusing such "boudoir pleasure" had lost a bit of confidence, gained a bit of————

compliance and secret anticipation?

"You————really————" she spat, yet did not truly oppose.

Taking hold of the stockings, the touch was icy cool and smooth, the pearl luster flowing at her fingertips, as if alive.

She turned her back, slipped off the yukata, and under her husband's unreserved gaze, somewhat clumsily but more so bashfully, she inch by inch pulled on that thin-as-cicada's-wing yet resilient black fabric over her legs, freshly bathed and still glowing with a pinkish sheen.

The pearl-light Lycra stockings indeed lived up to their reputation.

They clung to her with ultimate intimacy, perfectly outlining Minami's shapely, lovely little legs; the black made her skin appear even whiter than snow. More wondrously, that barely-there pearl luster shifted and flowed with the minute movements of her legs, as if starlight or the glimmer on a dark lake's surface were woven into her being—noble, mysterious, and exuding a silent, deadly sensuality.

When she finally had them on, standing there somewhat awkwardly, Uesugi Muneyuki's eyes ignited with unreserved admiration and heat. He stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and lightly stroked her calf with his palm, feeling the smooth, cool touch and the warmth of her skin beneath the fabric.

"Perfect." He looked up at her, his voice slightly hoarse.

Minami Ojou-sama, her heart racing from his gaze, deliberately lifted her chin to conceal it, humming: "Just this once————next time what stockings to wear, I get to decide."

"Good, good, good, I'll listen to you." Uesugi Muneyuki merely smiled.

You'll soon know how formidable I am, Miwa-chan!

Dinner was a top-tier kaiseki cuisine personally served by the female proprietor and her attendants in the room interior. Each dish was exquisite as an artwork, complemented by the window's gradually deepening twilight and the lit stone lanterns, the atmosphere private and romantic.

Of course, there was also Tokugawa Ieyasu's favorite sea bream tempura, not only double portions but specially selected large sea bream!

Minami Ojou-sama initially felt slight discomfort from wearing the pearl-light stockings, but after the sake entered her throat, warmth rose, and with her husband's gentle, attentive care and appreciative gaze, she gradually relaxed.

After dessert was finished, the attendants silently cleared the tableware.

The room interior once again held only the two of them.

Minami Ojou-sama leaned into Uesugi Muneyuki's embrace, gazing out the window at the night's blurred, massive silhouette of Mount Fuji, and the lake surface reflecting starlight.

"Muneyuki," she suddenly spoke, her voice regaining some of the clarity from work: "Father said the Special Mission Division————what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki chuckled lightly, his hand playing with a strand of her hair pausing, as if he hadn't expected her to bring up work so soon again, but he knew her—this woman was never one to fully set aside her career: "Strategically, it's a brilliant move. Directly under the Criminal Investigation Department, authority, resources, independence, and the level of cases accessible will be entirely different. For you, it's a true springboard into the Metropolitan Police Department's core decision-making circle."

"What are the difficulties?" Minami Ojou-sama pressed on, her clear eyes shining especially bright in the darkness.

"Internal resistance. From section to division, it's not just a name and rank change, but a redrawing of the power cake. Investigation Division 1, Public Security, even the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department may see it as a threat. External pressure will also increase, as a division-level unit means our future cases will have exponentially higher sensitivity and political risk." Uesugi Muneyuki analyzed calmly and thoroughly: "Furthermore, after personnel expansion, how to screen, integrate, and manage the new team, ensuring its combat effectiveness does not decrease but increases, is the greatest management challenge. Okada and the others are indeed elite, but their scale is too small."

Minami Ojou-sama nodded—this was exactly her concern: "I need an absolutely reliable, fully capable deputy who can hold the fort. Eirina————strong combat ability, but shallow experience, unable to suppress possibly transferred old hands. I need someone with both experience and who shares our resolve."

"You want to poach personnel from other departments of the Criminal Investigation Department?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked.

"Not entirely poaching." Minami's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness: "First, Okada Brother undoubtedly must be promoted to Superintendent, merely a question of whether he becomes Deputy Section Chief or Management Officer, what I'm considering is the Prosecution Section One."

"The District Public Prosecutors Office obviously doesn't always want our Special Mission Unit stealing the spotlight, so they proactively proposed establishing Prosecution Section One within the Special Mission Division, which will be an extremely rare prosecution-police joint department in the system, so the District Public Prosecutors Office will definitely dispatch prosecutors over, and if we can gain this prosecutor's support————"

Uesugi Muneyuki pondered for a moment: "Yes, I don't know who Nishikawa Chief Prosecutor's side will send over."

"Whoever it is, in the Special Mission Division" this new place, old ties are few, constraints are few." Minami Ojou-sama spoke with conviction: "As for temperament, as long as goals align, I can manage. The key is, he must absolutely stand with you and with me on the same side."

She turned around, facing him, her fingers unconsciously twisting the collar of his sleepwear: "Your forensic support system must also be upgraded accordingly. I need an independent, rapid-response core for identification that can deeply collaborate with universities and research institutions, not merely an附属 department."

"I will plan it." Uesugi Muneyuki grasped her hand, solemnly promising: "The University of Tokyo side still has several research projects we can collaborate on. Equipment, personnel, technical processes————I will, before March next year, produce a complete upgrade plan."

"The UDI unnatural death department previously proposed by the District Public Prosecutors Office can be gradually implemented bit by bit."

"Tsk, Muneyuki, you really miss your Mikoto-nee!" Minami snorted with her little nose, a thoughtful look on her cute apple face.

The two discussed their future business blueprint in low voices amidst the night and the mist of the hot springs.

Minami would at times frown in thought, at times gaze sharply as she stated her views, that focused and commanding demeanor forming a wonderful contrast with her soft silk nightgown and the black pearl-light stockings flashing beneath it.

She was no longer the bride on her wedding day who needed to weigh all sides and play a role, nor was she the annoyed wife from this morning, but a clear-eyed woman who knew what she wanted and began laying groundwork methodically, an ambitious helmswoman.

Yet this ambition and sharpness, now wrapped in the warmth of marriage and private sensuality, became more complex and charming.

I, Minami Omitaidokoro, will climb step by step!

The discussion temporarily concluded, Minami felt thirsty, rose to get water.

Her silk-clad feet stepped on the cool tatami mat, the hem of her silk nightgown lightly floating with her movement, the pair of legs wrapped in pearl-light black Lycra tracing an alluring play of light and shadow in the dim yellow lighting.

As she approached the low table, she seemed to forget she was wearing an ankle-length sleep gown, slightly bending her knees and waist to reach for the kettle.

This motion caused the hem of her sleep gown to rise silently, all the way to mid-thigh.

That heart-stopping absolute domain was tightly embraced by the ultimate-fit black pearl-light stockings, extending upward, abruptly ending at the shadow line of the robe's hem, leaving endless space for imagination. The pearl light flowed at the bend of her leg, tracing the tense yet beautiful line of her calf.

Uesugi Muneyuki's breath hitched almost imperceptibly.

Minami seemed utterly unaware, poured the water, rose straight, and walked back holding the water cup.

She handed a cup of water to Uesugi Muneyuki, then sipped her own cup in small mouthfuls, her gaze still clear, still pondering the personnel arrangements just discussed.

"Minami." Uesugi Muneyuki took the water cup, his voice somewhat low and hoarse.

"Huh?" Minami lifted her eyes, her face full of curiosity.

Uesugi Muneyuki set down the water cup, reached out to grasp her wrist, and gently pulled.

Minami let out a soft gasp, fell back into his embrace, the water cup nearly tipping over: "Hey! Muneyuki, you————"

"Work discussion————temporarily ended." Uesugi Muneyuki's kiss landed on her neck, carrying the warmth of alcohol and an irresistible meaning, "Now is 'private time' at the Wogui Pavilion, Madame."

The water cup in Minami's hand was placed on the table, she symbolically struggled a moment, then yielded, wrapping her arms around his neck, the last trace of sharpness belonging to "Minami Management Officer" in her eyes completely melting, replaced by the soft light unique to a newlywed wife, blended with bashfulness, indulgence, and emotion.

Outside the window, Mount Fuji stood silently beneath the starry sky, witnessing, within this "Tokugawa Legacy Hot Spring" inn, the new undertaking.

But only twenty minutes later.

"I, I can't take it! I can't take it! Apply for external assistance, I want to apply for external assistance!" Minami Ojou-sama's anguished cry came from within the room.

"Eirina, Eirina come save me!!!"

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