My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 501: Chapter 173: Who Told Me to Like Miss Sazanoko So Much! (Hug Tight) [6000]_3

As a grand Daimyo, after arriving in Edo with a large entourage in a grand procession, it naturally wasn’t appropriate for them to lower their status by staying at an inn. Of course, staying at the Shogunate’s residence, Edo Castle, was also out of the question.

Therefore, to solve the housing issue for Daimyos, with a stroke of the pen by the Edo Shogunate, all Daimyos were gifted land in Edo to build their Daimyo Residences.

The design and structure of the Daimyo Residences were determined by the Daimyo’s rank and salary, so just by observing the exterior of a residence, one could discern which domain’s Daimyo it belonged to.

Those with exceptionally high status, the Great Daimyos, could own multiple residences. Each Daimyo could have up to three residences in Edo: the Upper Residence, Middle Residence, and Lower Residence.

The differences among these three types of residences were determined by their distance from Edo Castle; the closest residence to Edo Castle was the ”Upper Residence,” and the furthest was the ”Lower Residence.”

Generally, the Upper Residence was where the Daimyo and their family lived, while the Middle and Lower Residences were basically used as secondary residences.

Besides requiring the Daimyos to annually gather forces and reside in Edo for a period, to better control them and prevent rebellion, the system of visits and handovers had a rather harsh stipulation—

The wives and legitimate sons with inheritance rights of all Daimyos were not allowed to return to their Vassal States but had to reside indefinitely as hostages in the Daimyo Residences in Edo.

Traditionally, the daughters of Daimyos were not required to reside long in Edo because women did not have inheritance rights to Vassal States and thus posed no threat to the Edo Shogunate, so naturally, they didn’t need to be held as hostages.

However, the little princess of the Uwajima Domain, not wanting to be separated from her birth mother, voluntarily requested to reside long-term in Edo.

The intention of the Lord of the Uwajima Domain was to have Sazanoko come to their Upper Residence to teach his daughter martial arts, who was currently residing in Edo.

Sazanoko originally had no intention of becoming anyone’s private tutor.

Let alone the little princess of the Uwajima Domain; even if it were the Shogunate’s daughter, she had little interest in teaching them.

However, a few words from her father, Chiba Dingji, changed her mind—

”Sazanoko, give it a try!”

”’Being someone’s private tutor’ and ’teaching others martial arts in the dojo’ are two completely different experiences.”

”Scholars doing scholarly work avoid working behind closed doors, and so should we martial artists.”

”Going out to see the ’scenery’ you have never seen before may someday become precious ’nourishment’ in your martial arts training.”

”That’s why your uncle once suggested that Eisuke take up a position in the Mito Domain.”

... persuaded as such, Sazanoko finally accepted the invitation from the Lord of the Uwajima Domain, adding a secondary role as the private tutor of swordsmanship for the Princess Date of the Uwajima Domain.

This side role... has now been ongoing for 4 years.

Overall, Sazanoko still found this secondary job quite enjoyable.

Sazanoko didn’t need to teach Princess Date every day, only once every seven days.

Although Princess Date was a princess of a Great Feudal Country, she was kind and approachable, without any of that annoying princess syndrome, so Sazanoko and her maintained a friendly and close teacher-student relationship.

An easy-to-get-along-with teaching subject + a manageable workload... these were the main reasons Sazanoko managed to persevere with this side role for so long.

Today was the day for lessons with Princess Date.

At this moment, Sazanoko had just finished the day’s lesson with Princess Date and was preparing to go home.

Just after leaving the Vassal Mansion of the Uwajima Domain, a gentle breeze happened to blow by.

Feeling as if her face was softly brushed by high-class silk, Sazanoko couldn’t help but close her eyes slightly and take a deep breath of fresh air.

The weather today was exceptionally good.

It was a clear, sunny sky from early morning, the vast blue expanse seemingly reaching the cosmos’s edge.

Amidst the increasingly hot weather, today’s sunshine uncharacteristically appeared gentle, with cotton-like white clouds further softening the already mild sunlight.

The regular breezes blowing added a gentle touch to today’s weather.

The fine weather also brought excellent visibility; with her reasonably good eyesight, Sazanoko could faintly see the spire of the church in the Westerners’ Residence Area in the distance.

Having silently enjoyed a moment of the gentle breeze’s caress, Sazanoko, feeling utterly content, slowly gathered her feelings and gracefully stepped onto her way home.

After being Princess Date’s private tutor for so long, Sazanoko was more than familiar with the route from the Upper Residence of the Uwajima Domain to the Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

About a year ago, Sazanoko accidentally discovered a shortcut home that significantly reduced her walking time.

This shortcut comprised many secluded alleys and small paths, passing through a district adjacent to the Westerners’ Residence Area, allowing Sazanoko to fully appreciate the completely different architectural style and cultural features from their own country on her way home.

Setting out from the Upper Residence of the Uwajima Domain, to reach the shortcut home Sazanoko had accidentally discovered, she first had to cross a bustling market street.

Upon entering this bustling street, the noise surrounding Sazanoko suddenly became quite loud.

Among these chaotic sounds, some were... not particularly harmonious.