Chapter 899

Kobe!!!

At the very moment when the real Kobe was facing its greatest crisis in history, Tokyo, Bunkyo Ward, Uesugi Mansion.

Minami Ojou-sama was cheering while holding two large boxes of Kobe beef.

These two large boxes of Kobe frost-descent beef weighed a full 2400g, a gift from Watanabe Eiji after he became Police Commissioner; Minami Ojou-sama arrived here today with her Ooku attendant Ikeda Erena and Saito Asuka, and also came to visit Ishihara Mikoto, who is resting her pregnancy at the Uesugi Mansion.

"Mikoto-chan! We're here, and we brought you Kobe beef! To nourish your body!" Minami Ojou-sama laughed as she held several boxes of meat and spoke to Ishihara Mikoto, who was sitting nearby.

Mikoto was now more than five months pregnant; she rested her hand on her belly, her face glowing with maternal radiance, her originally fox-like, alluring charm and distinctive seductive eyes having faded considerably, yet now she exuded an added air of married woman's grace and poise; she sat beside the brazier, her body slightly reclined, one hand protecting her abdomen, palm pressed against the gentle curve of her light wisteria-colored kimono.

Her features were refined and full of vitality, her slightly thick lips full and slightly upturned, so that even without smiling, the corners of her mouth naturally rose, as if perpetually holding some pleasant secret; her eyelashes were dense and curled, like two small fans, each blink stirring a gentle breeze.

She said nothing, but in truth she was very satisfied with her current life.

Work was settled, her career could be preserved, someone was looking after the child, and the future was secure.

Moreover, childbirth was not particularly difficult for her—at least, her pregnancy symptoms were weaker than she had imagined, and the child was not overly troublesome.

Meanwhile, Uesugi Muneyuki rolled his eyes, thinking, Of course the child isn't troublesome.

Because he is supplying the child with energy from the inner world!!

Strictly speaking, his and Mikoto's child is not entirely human.

"Hehehe, anyway, Mikoto, do your best—we've kept your position open in the Special Mission Division." Minami Ojou-sama wore today a light green tomesode kimono, accented with silver-white and pale gold plover patterns, the cuffs and hem adorned with tiny plum blossom branches, the flowers using only white and pale red, exquisitely simple and elegant.

Around her waist was tied a raw silk gold brocade obi, featuring geometric patterns of pine needles and snow in deep indigo blue, the waist adorned with an ivory-colored obi cord (a narrow waistband fastener), shaped like a crescent moon.

She knelt seated on the tatami mat in the room, her spine straight as a newly transplanted green bamboo shoot in the courtyard.

The light green kimono set off her already fair skin with a chill like celadon porcelain, and that face, dubbed by the media as "the police world's great lady" and "Uesugi Palace," was now veiled in the sheer gauze of New Year morning light—her eyebrows unadorned, naturally grown into two faint arches, the outer corners of her eyes slightly drooping, her docile expression concealing a hard-to-detect slyness.

After one year of marriage, Minami had gradually taken on the air of a young matron, but her cheeks still retained a girl's roundness; a faint smile would bring out two shallow dimples, like melting snowflakes.

Ikeda Erena wore a grape-purple tomesode kimono, its large surface patterned with honeysuckle vines and butterflies in karakuri design, the butterfly wings gilded with gold leaf specks that shimmered in the light; her waist bore a Nagoya obi woven with gold and silver threads into a phoenix pattern in amber gold, her hair bun askew with a tortoiseshell comb, from which hung a fine gold chain bearing three tiny pearls.

Ikeda Erena was then leaning against a wooden corridor pillar, one hand casually resting on the railing, curiously gazing at Ishihara Mikoto's belly; her grape-purple kimono draped her tall, curvaceous figure, and as a New Year kimono, it lent her an added air of languid allure; her obi tied neither too high nor too low, perfectly outlining the enticing curve between waist and hips.

Ikeda's features were strikingly handsome, with a mixed-race feel: high brow bones, deep-set eyes, pupils a dark tea color that glinted faintly in light like a feline's, also sharp like a big cat's when it exhales.

Her lips were full and lush, unstained by lipstick, yet her natural hue was enough to evoke freshly crushed red berries; a mass of black hair hung loosely at the nape, a few strands falling at the sides of her neck, revealing a snow-white, slender throat.

"How," she muttered, "should I address this child? As younger brother or sister, or what?" Saito Asuka complained, hands on hips, she wore a thin red-plum kimono patterned with scattered cherry blossoms and fractured mirror shards, within which faintly reflected tiny rabbit silhouettes, exquisitely delicate and cute, her obi a narrow half-width band woven with sage-green silver-threaded vines tied into a small drum knot, overall one size smaller than the others, a flower-shaped tortoiseshell hairpin in her hair, its head adorned with a hand-sewn silk flower of gradient pink petals; a wooden rabbit netsuke hung from her obi.

This rabbit headpiece was given to her by Senior Student Mai, and Asuka loved it.

The girl's features were delicate, nearly childlike in refinement; her face extremely small—so small that an adult male's palm could cover it; yet her eye fissure was long, with deep double eyelids, the outer corners slightly upturned, like a wary yet curious fawn, or like a stubborn little bird.

"Call it whatever you like," Uesugi Muneyuki said from beside her, laughing; Asuka gave him a white-eyed look, yet extended her small hand to draw a circle on her own belly.

The girl's meaning was simple: I want one too!

Uesugi Muneyuki today wore a black, loose kimono, its back bearing a white Uesugi bamboo sparrow crest; he glanced at Asuka's lower abdomen and felt a pang of guilt.

Asuka with a big belly?

This scene...

Indeed, Asuka is still too young—indeed, only women like Senior Student Erena or Mikoto-nee feel safe in pregnancy.

Meanwhile, not far off, Uesugi Muneyuki's mother, Uesugi Tomoko, was receiving guests for tea, while his sister-in-law, Uesugi Chika, sat properly not far away, gazing at Ishihara Mikoto's belly with a look of deep melancholy, while her own appearance here seemed utterly out of place.

"Good~good~good" Grandfather Uesugi Kuninori gestured for Uesugi Muneyuki to come over, sit with us men: "Yukimaru, come, have a cup of tea." "I don't want tea, I want cola." Uesugi Muneyuki complained, but still sat with his father Uesugi Hironori and brother Uesugi Sadanori. "Yukimaru! You brat!" Uesugi Hironori laughed and scolded, he thought for a moment, then took from behind his seat a box of gift: "This is what I just bought at the German Altar, Kao Shunzhai's sakima, made with real dog teats and honey—want to try some?"

"I don't want sakima, I want McDonald's!" Uesugi Muneyuki declared, his rebellious phase arrived.

"Give it to me!" Uesugi Hironori exercised paternal privilege over this little son.

"Fine! Eat it, then go face off against the Aisin Gioro Steel Whip and the Aqinahaseis Heim!" Uesugi Muneyuki tried a piece—the sakima's face had red and green threads, and it really was quite tasty.

"I won't eat it, and besides, don't go—they're too many." Uesugi Sadanori refused to eat.

"Oh right, remember in April you guys need to make a trip to Yonezawa." Uesugi Hironori seized the moment to raise the topic: "In the second half of this year, the Uesugi Shinkin Zaidan that I and your grandfather founded will be established in Yonezawa; I will continue to serve as director-general, promoting both culture and sports."

"Understood" *2

Uesugi Muneyuki and Uesugi Sadanori both sighed.

"Oh right, Chida, Yukimaru." Just then, Uesugi Kuninori finally spoke: "How's the Sanada Maru thing going?" Uesugi Kuninori referred to NHK's this-year taiga drama Sanada Maru cameo, the two brothers will cameo as young Uesugi Kagekatsu and Uesugi Kagetora; though it is indeed a major draw, it's just a few shots.

"Filming one day at the set will be about it." Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head: "If NHK merely hopes to rely on us two brothers to pull in ratings, they're overestimating themselves."

"These years, the taiga drama hasn't managed anything new." Uesugi Kuninori remarked offhand: "It's becoming increasingly fictionalized and novelized." "Is the Sengoku period oil? Does new drilling happen every year?" Uesugi Muneyuki snorted: "And it's always Sengoku, back and forth—really boring."

"Who let historical records be so fragmented." Uesugi Sadanori also said: "When I went to look, I said the armor props' colors were too flashy, but the production said it had to be that way; plus the script, all clichés."

"That's normal." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded.

The taiga drama is not a historical drama proper—it's inherently performative; of course, in history, taiga dramas have not lacked attempts at historical drama.

For example, the drama Taira no Kiyomori restored history in costume, makeup, and props: everyone disheveled and grimy, everyone's armor dull and dusty, everyone moving kicked up dust—just that the male and female leads tidied up slightly for recognizability, and that's it!

For example, the drama Hojo Tokimune, to restore history, specially hired many Han Chinese, also including the Bassan Teacher who once played Genghis Khan to portray Kublai Khan, and it also used Mongolian and Han languages, even other languages, to show diplomacy.

Furthermore, the drama Clouds Above the Slope depicted the Russo-Japanese War, even the Port Arthur massacre, and even specially arranged a passerby to criticize the conduct of the Japanese troops at the time.

But the problem is, Japanese people don't like to watch these.

Who likes to really watch a group of disheveled, dust-choked samurai clashing arms?

Who likes to really watch the Korean War, aside from the Battle of Woosung, the Battle of Ssangyong, and the Battle of Bichiguwan, with the Japanese forces throughout being bested by Li Rusong and others, and by Li Sun-sin, one of the world's three great generals, who in the Battle of Myeongnyang destroyed ten with one?

Over time, for ratings, NHK no longer bothers to strive, focusing instead on tossing in what people love to watch, such as the plot of Honnoji Temple, Honnoji Temple, Honnoji Temple.

That's about enough.

Now, the taiga drama also has a feature: whoever is the protagonist in this drama bears responsibility for these matters:

Okehazama is where he first realized he needed to launch a surprise attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto.

The great retreat at Kanegasaki is where he first understood the hint implied by the beans sewn onto both sides sent by Ichiji.

On the eve of the Honnoji Temple incident, he was the first to sense something amiss.

The conquest of Odawara is where he took charge of entering the castle to persuade the Hojo clan to surrender.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's ambition is where he first perceived it.

Hideyoshi always had him called to his bedside when he was dying: "Hideyori is entrusted to you."

The Taiga drama has now become a formulaic performance, so it's no wonder Uesugi Muneyuki and Uesugi Sadanori have lost all interest.

Some "typecast characters," such as Hojo Ujimasa appearing on stage, mainly just eat a bowl of tea-soaked rice, then confidently face the Toyotomi army, then become furious, face the despair and broken defenses of Ichiyajo, then surrender and commit seppuku.

"This year's Kohaku is also so boring." Uesugi Hironori casually turned on the television.

However, the content on the television instantly caught his attention.

"Snow Pine! Chide!" Uesugi Hironori's voice trembled slightly: "You guys, look!"

"What?" Uesugi Muneyuki noticed the "breakingnews!" in the upper right corner.

"Kobe... Dahlia?" Uesugi Hironori swallowed: "What is a dahlia?"

The three men almost simultaneously turned their gazes toward Uesugi Muneyuki.

Uesugi Muneyuki frowned; at this moment he still didn't understand what had happened, he had only seen the news.

"What does Kobe Dahlia mean?" Uesugi Sadanori fell silent for a moment: "Black Dahlia?"

"Snow Pine, you should know, right?" Uesugi Kuninori shook his white eyebrows: "I've heard of it before."

"Of course." Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, he organized his words, and began speaking: "The Black Dahlia is an old unsolved case in the United States, simply put, it is..."