Time-travelled To Japan's Sengoku Era

Renew：Volume 1 Chapter 50
Author：Han Zhao 涵昭
Update：08-15-2023
Tags：Adventure Historical Romance
Description：Time-travelled To Japan's Sengoku Era summary: She survived an earthquake only to be reborn in j.a.pan during their time of war! The worst part was all the random romance bothering her when she could be the lady boss in a foreign country and kicking some a.s.s. Was she doomed to be a troublemaker in this messed up time?

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Chapter List

Chapter 1 Sleep Companion 1-1
Chapter 2 Sleep Companion 1-2
Chapter 3 Sleep Companion 1-3
Chapter 4 t.i.t for Tat 2-1
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 t.i.t for Tat 2-3
Chapter 7 Crisis 3-1
Chapter 8 Crisis 3-2
Chapter 3 Crisis 3-3
Chapter 4 The Dowry 4-1
Chapter 4 The Dowry 4-2
Chapter 4 The Dowry 4-3
Chapter 5 Suruga 5-1
Chapter 5 Suruga 5-2
Chapter 15 Flower arranging
Chapter 16 The Truth
Chapter 17 Goodbye to Yoshimoto
Chapter 18 Meeting Yamamoto Kansuke
Chapter 19 Meeting Again
Chapter 20 Meeting Again
Chapter 21 Call me n.o.bushige
Chapter 22 The Jealous Woman
Chapter 23 To be Chief of the Inner Compound
Chapter 24 Change After Becoming Chief of the Inner Compound After becoming the chief of the Inner Compound, Sakura moved into the compound. Though some old wives and maids left by Takeda n.o.butora didn’t like her, most of them were fearful. Lady Ooi gave her three maids before leaving; they were new to Tsutsujigasaki. They didn’t even have names yet. Sakura thought for some time and decided to give them Chinese names: Ye, Cao, and Hua. Tsuru, who once served Lady Ooi, was very envious of them, but she had no choice because Lady Ooi sent her to the sister of Takeda Harun.o.bu. She said goodbye to the young chief and left her many complaints. Sakura heard what she said, but she simply overlooked those complaints. Madam Sanjō realized her dream of moving in. When Sakura saw her jaunty face, she was so contemptuous, but she still remembered her duty and asked the maids to clean the main house for her. Sakura did not see Yoshin.o.bu, her first son. Cao told her that the son moved to Obu Toramasa, the old officer’s house, to study. It was his father’s will. As to the blind second child, he planned to send him to a mountain temple once he knew how to take care of himself. Sakura now understood the sad words from Madam Sanjō. Children of the n.o.ble families in this age were doomed to a sad fate. She showed some pity for Madam Sanjō. However, the madam didn’t return any kindness; instead, she was as proud as before. She liked to take Yae and the other three maids and have them circle around inside the Inner Compound. Once Sakura and her maids met them, they all saluted them politely, but the maids of the madam were rude. “How dare you be so arrogant in front of us! You three slave girls from Lady Ooi’s hometown! If it was up to me to name you, I would call you carriage wheel, toilet brush, and pickle jar, hhha. . . ” Sakura bore all these herself. Today was a fine day. She had her hands washed in the pool, and began to do some popping dance moves. She needed practice, or she might lapse. “Sakura. . . ” While she was crazily dancing the moonwalk, reveling in her good mood, someone called her name and held her by the waist from behind. She was so surprised she screamed. “Sakura, it is me, n.o.bushige.” “n.o.bushige?” Sakura turned back to find the boy. Yes, it was him. He released her carefully, asking, “Are you okay?” “Why have you come to the Inner Compound? You scared me!” “I saw your body twitch from time to time just now, and I thought that you might be seriously ill. What if you were having a stroke? So I ran over to help. Are you really okay?” “Come on, I’m dancing. What great luck I have!” Sakura was stunned. How could he regard such cool dance moves as twitches? And a stroke? If she had an inflatable stick on hand, she would have hit him on the head. n.o.bushige wiped his sweat and pulled a face at her. “Look at you; you always dance strange dances. But now I know the truth, I can’t hold you from behind anymore. Or I will be struck by you, just like my brother.” Sakura laughed when she heard this. She could never be angry at this cute boy. “I came to say thank you today. Your medicine was effective for my master. His hands feel much better.” The boy half-bowed to her mischievously. “You are the brother of our master. You don’t need to treat me like this.” Sakura hurried to return him a salute. Suddenly, she saw a shadow quickly pa.s.s by in front of the gate of the yard. She followed it to check. “Who did you see?” n.o.bushige asked. “Hush. . . ” Sakura raised a finger to her lips to stop him. “Speak quieter. She was the toilet brush of your sister-in-law.” “Toilet brush?” “Something used in the toilets for purpose of cleaning. I named her myself.” “You are good at giving names.” “Forget it. Why are you here with the token to get out?” “For sure I am going out to buy something for the sister-in-law. Yae always went to Kyoto to buy silks to make dresses for her. Shouldn’t you already know this? You are the chief now.” When n.o.bushige finished his explanation, the girl was already missing. He was curious to find where she went. Soon she appeared in front of the door, and she ran to chase the maid quickly, as a swift monkey. “The fabric shop was not open yet, so why did they let the toilet brush in so early?” Sakura followed the maid to a nearby shop. She saw the maid talking to the shop owner for a little while; she entered the shop, closing the door behind her. She leapt onto the roof of the bamboo house and looked down through the gaps between two bamboos. Fortunately, she was fast enough that n.o.bushige didn’t catch up. “Is this a letter to Master Imagawa Yoshimoto, from Madam Sanjō?” The owner took hold of a letter from the maid and gave her some silk cloth in return. The maid nodded.
Chapter 25 A Special Secret Madam Sanjō had sent a letter to Imagawa Yoshimoto secretly? Didn’t she forget that everything happened that day? Walking on the road back to Tsutsujigasaki, Sakura thought about all these weird things carefully. She remembered the scared expression of the madam, which could not be faked. And she had thought that the madam was a woman who knew how to protect herself. But today’s special incident surprised her. Was this a trick of Yae? She heard from Itagaki how this malicious woman murdered Masuko, the lover of Takeda Harun.o.bu. Thinking of this, she couldn’t keep calm. At first she wanted to get back to the store to grab the letter after the maid left. But if she did this, the truth that she knew their scheme would be exposed. Yae was a crafty woman; this settlement could make the situation more complicated. “Sakura, why are you here today?” She was woken from her thoughts by n.o.bushige’s call. He strode from the end of the road toward her. “Did you follow the maid here? You are so fast; I can’t keep up with you. What happened, though? You look weird.” “n.o.bushige, would you help me ask your underling to send a letter to Madam Takeda of Suruga? I will give you the content. But would you write it under your own ident.i.ty?” “Sure, I can do this for you. But I want to know the reason.” “I am suspecting that the maid Yae was trying to control the Takeda Family during the time her master rebuilt Kai.” “What?” Sakura tried to tell him her estimations calmly. “Do you remember that Prince Taro was sent to Obu by the master several days ago? Yae seemed worried about this and she abetted Madam Sanjō to ask your brother to let them move into the Inner Compound. I’d thought that she was planning to make the madam’s position in this family firm. However, after two days, three maids came from the madam’s hometown. I heard that the three maids were given by Jukei-ni of the Imagawa family. The madam had many maids. She had two sons and the master didn’t marry any other wives. Don’t you think this is uncommon for the three maids to come here right now? Yae should try most to please the madam instead.” “You mean, Yae is afraid that my brother may marry someone outside and give birth to a new child? Which will threaten the position of Prince Taro? So Yae wants to change all the underlings to the servants of Imagawa Yoshimoto, by telling him that the madam is in need?” “I am not sure if this is also the madam’s worries and plans. But Yae is a dangerous person. So, under your ident.i.ty, I would like to send a letter to Suruga, asking her to inform Imagawa Yoshimoto that the madam is happy and has no need for the servants. If someone told him the madam is in need, let him please consider the relationship of the two families carefully before taking any action.” “So, you found the evidence from the maid just now?” “What’s your opinion?” “I think so. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so sure.” n.o.bushige smiled, and patted her shoulder. “I will help you, for all we do, we do for the family and my brother, right?” In fact, she wanted to protect herself. Sakura thought in heart, Please, n.o.bushige, don’t misunderstand me in that way. I don’t want any of Mr. Wrong’s adoration. From that day on, Sakura often remembered the sentence n.o.bushige said. Harun.o.bu went back very late everyday. And he didn’t enter the Inner Compound, but slept in the Outside Compound alone. Sakura was unfamiliar with his change. On one afternoon, she heard Yae and the toilet brush talking secretly with each other. Stealthily, she walked closer to listen to them from behind a big stone. “Shino, what’s wrong with you? I asked you to send a letter quite a long time ago. Now you tell me that Master Imagawa Yoshimoto wants to bring me back to Kyoto?” “I am sorry, ma’am. I guess someone has leaked our plan, so . . . ” Before the maid could finish, Yae gave her a slap on the face. “How useless you are! I had thought that you were clever to serve the madam. But now you’ve made the Madam and me separate. How I would love to peel off your skin!” Yae was so angry that she took out a hair pin and stabbed the maid with it. She’d caught Shino by the hair, so she couldn’t escape from her grasp, or the torment, and she yelled to beg for Yae’s pardon.
Chapter 26 Saying Goodbye to Yae Sakura couldn’t bear the shrill cries of the maid any longer. She ran up to them and shouted at Yae, “Stop it!” “Save me, Chief Sakura, save me!” The maid knelt down before her and begged, her face full of tears and snot. “Don’t kneel to me. Go do your work.” Sakura gave her a hinting sigh; the maid understood and retreated immediately. Before leaving, she half-bowed to her many times. Sakura turned to Yae instead. “Wow, you can change expressions so easily? I just saw you angry but now you’re smiling as bright as the sun? Yae, let me have a look at your treasure.” “There’s no need, Chief. This is not a treasure; I am afraid it would dirty your hands.” “Give it to me!” Sakura quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed the from her. Yae was so scared that she was stunned right there, not knowing if she should take back the hairpin or leave. She was like a dying tree standing there, seeing Sakura play with her baby. “This is jade, with a gold inset, and two pearls as s. Is this a gift from your lady’s wedding dowry? Since you used it to stab the girl, I don’t think you cherish it and I guess you won’t mind giving it to me.” Yae thought that she was envious of the decoration, so she tested her, saying, “If the Chief likes it, I can give you more valuable things. Would you let the issue of me punishing Shino go?” “Okay, I can forget this issue. But you just mentioned a more precious decoration; don’t you think that I should ask the master to help me put this hairpin in my hair himself?” Sakura threatened, since she guessed that the more precious things would be given by the madam’s own family. Yae understood her immediately. “So it was you who disturbed us? I didn’t notice. What’s your plan for my lady?” Yae, the old fox, was totally panicked. “Don’t mention your lady in front of me.” Sakura turned the sharp end of the hairpin in front of the maid’s face. “It is you who always teach the madam wrong ways. Besides, it is also you who punished the other servant in secret. Don’t think I don’t know your evil thoughts. You want to help the declining family to get more control of the country through Takeda Harun.o.bu. I know every thought that’s gone through your head since before your birth and after your death. You’d better go back to your hometown today!” Yae packed her belongings that night, taking the two maids with her back to Kyoto. Harun.o.bu got to know this the day after, when he went to see Madam Sanjō. But he didn’t doubt the reason why Yae left suddenly. When Sakura saw the sadness of the madam losing Yae, she felt a little guilty. In the modern age, she had never hurt anyone to protect herself. But this time, she’d frightened Yae and kicked her out. Now she was afraid that one day she would become just like them, living and plotting in a place like the ancient Chinese imperial harem or seraglio. “Why not go to the madam? You have some more time to stay at home now.” Harun.o.bu was writing Chinese characters with a pen brush. When he heard Sakura’s suggestion, he was surprised. “You speak good words for her? You usually stood by my mother’s side. Meanwhile, I didn’t go to see you for many days and you still want to push me to her? Aren’t you envious?” “I am serious. Why are you always joking?” Sakura turned to leave him. “Are you angry?” He took her sleeve, and whispered to her, “In fact, I don’t like you pretending to be generous. I want to see you jealous.” “What . . . What are you talking about?” Sakura felt her body grow rigid. She felt his breath so close, and her heartbeat quickened. “I won’t give up on you, even if you became Chief of the Inner Compound. You took my brother’s hand to drive away the annoying maid; this made me desire you more than before.” He circled her waist from behind, letting his chin touch the back of her head, which made her more flurried. “You know she was driven away by me? Are you watching me?” “No, I’m not. But my brother never hides anything from me. He is an honest boy. But I don’t think you will blame him because you always think that he is better than me.” So? He was envious of n.o.bushige? Sakura turned back to look at his face, trying to find some traces of it. But he returned to his desk to continue his handwriting. Was he shy? Because he wanted to hide his real feelings from her? What an interesting pair of brothers!
Chapter 27 The Cleaning “Chief, Hua and Cao have done all the things according to your arrangement. Please go have a look.” When Sakura came into the Inner Compound, she saw her maid Ye. “Great! Let me check how many spoils they’ve collected.” She had a series of plans for cleaning the Inner Compound, and this was the first step. But to honest, this was a good time killer. In the office of the Inner Compound, Cao and Hua bowed to her. Before she could react, glittering on the ground flashed and caught her eyes. G.o.d! The ground was fully covered with jades, pearls, golds, and silks. If she was still in the modern age, those cultural relics might be submitted to a museum. But she couldn’t take even one from them. Sakura had some pity in heart, but she hid her true thoughts and coughed as she walked through them. The maids kneeling in front of her were had gone completely pale. They obeyed her order to lift up their heads. But soon they were lowered down again, fearful but still unwilling to give away those treasures. Sakura squatted down to check the relics one by one. She had seen similar things from a book some j.a.panese friend gave her grandpa. Now she was seeing the real deal. Her eyes feeling glutted, she stood up slowly, asking the three maids to pack up those treasures and have them taken to the storeroom where they’d be safe. “Where did you get these treasures?” she asked the maids. “My honor, they were given by Madam. A long time ago. . . ” one of the maids answered. Sakura took a deep breath, and she turned her face to Toilet Brush. Since Yae had been driven away, the maid became obedient to her. Then she understood her idea and answered, “My honor, I have checked carefully; though some of the treasures were gifted by Madam, most of them were payment for their services for certain issues. Meanwhile, these are not all of it, but simply what’s left. They have sold many and sent the money back to their hometown. Do you think we should drive them out?” “Please, my honor, forgive me. . . ” Before Sakura said a word, all the maids began to plea and kowtow. “Don’t cry! It’s so annoying to hear your voices! Relax, I won’t drive you out, because I know you were sold to here by your poor families.” Sakura raised her voice, saying, “The master is rebuilding Kai. Everyone in this house should keep a simple life to support the rebuilding. How dare you enjoy a luxurious life in this chaotic age? If everyone acted like you, Kai will become extinct sooner or later. I will use these things for the poor people to rebuild their houses and open up wastelands for planting. All the wives of the previous master can choose to leave or stay. If they choose to stay here, they can’t admire the Madam Sanjō’s beautiful dressing and decorations. Or I won’t allow them.” Her words shocked all the people in the Inner Compound. But Sakura soon became regretful; how could she be so just and generous? She only needed to steady her position in the Tsutsujigasaki; why should she have to sacrifice so much? But she should have her words. Taking back the treasures was not a clever choice. For a whole day, she was sad about the treasures. Until Itagaki n.o.bukata sent her a message. “Are you serious? The master wants to give me some cloth?” “How could the master cheat us? He praised you in front of me, saying that you are so generous. The treasures removed much of his burden. So he would like to offer you some cloth. I already brought them here; you won’t ask me to take them back, will you?” When she opened the pack, Sakura couldn’t help but call out. Though it was only some cloth, it was high-end fabrics—especially the blue cloth with sakura petals. Though she was still unwilling to yield to Harun.o.bu, her heart was pleased. “Are you happy? The master also asked me to tell you that you can order the maids to make dresses at any time. He wanted to see you in them.” Fine. . . She didn’t like wearing a kimono in fact; especially in Kai, since it was such a hot place. She would rather make some clothing on her own. She said thanks to n.o.bukata and asked him to thank Harun.o.bu.
Chapter 10 Sudden Change What kind of dress Sakura took the cloth to make, only the three maids knew. When Harun.o.bu saw her, she was still wearing the old kimono. When she started to work by herself, her arms and legs were exposed. Maybe they had collected enough money; when n.o.bushige went to the Inner Compound to visit Sakura, he wanted to mention the rebuilding process of Kai. Sakura was concerned if ancient j.a.pan gave women more freedom, so she must have asked Harun.o.bu to give her a position like financial officer of the family. She had the ability to make Kai as rich as Suruga. “Hey, why do you allow n.o.bushige to enter the Inner Compound every day? Don’t you know what it means to avoid gossip?” When she was doing leg presses against the well, Harun.o.bu’s voice came, as low as a ghost. “My Lord, would you please not appear like a ghost each time? If I am drawing water from the well and I happen to spill water on you, is that good?” “I don’t care about water. I ask you to obey my orders. Without my permission, you can’t let any men come into the Inner Compound.” “Weren’t you talking about n.o.bushige? Why do you change it to any men?” “You call him n.o.bushige?” Harun.o.bu became angry and took hold of her wrist. Sakura tried her best to escape from him. She retreated two steps and cleaned her hands on her skirt. “Why are you so cruel to me? You are not like your brother, who is lovely. You only know how to scheme against other people, how to control other people, and you yell at me? Do you think you are charming? Though you are the master, even the wh.o.r.es in the whale houses would choose your brother instead of you. Only idiots would select you.” “Hey, don’t leave me.” When Harun.o.bu saw her walk away, he rushed to catch her. Sakura felt uneasy because she was wearing the kimono and geta, which didn’t allow her to walk fast. She dared not to use martial arts right now. So she chose to hide herself away. But this time, the master got hold of her sleeve, and he had caught her so forcibly that the whole sleeve was ripped away by him. It was fortunate that she’d put underwear on. Otherwise, her breast would be exposed, too. “Harun.o.bu, you are a hoodlum!” The troublemaker was stunned by this situation, and watched her run away into the room. When he found his senses again and looked around, he found all the maids were staring at him, as if he was a strange monster. The old maids found his expression was harsh; they asked the young ones to lower their heads. He took out his hand to wipe off the sweat on his forehead, sending away the maids. He gave Ye a hinting look. He followed the maid to Sakura’s door, but finally he gave up on annoying her and left. Then, for six days after the event, he didn’t enter the Inner Compound. Even when he had some time, he stayed outside. Sakura knew why he acted like this. But during this time, she also lost her spirit. She asked the maids to take care of the business of the Inner Compound, and stayed at home all day long. Only when the sun set did she come out to walk for a while. Thinking of the things that happened that day, she couldn’t be easy on him. But when she found all the maids were forced to keep silent on the issue, after a long time, the Inner Compound became so lonely. However, n.o.body could stop the servants from talking about her secretly. She could guess what they thought of her, in such a conservative era. When Hua went out to send some wine, Sakura used this opportunity to run out. She said she would like to send the wine herself. But when she arrived at the door of Harun.o.bu’s reception hall, she found four servants were waiting outside. They wanted to report to him when they saw her, but she stopped them. “No need. I can wait here. Is the master discussing some important issue with the family officers?” “Yes, Chief of the Inner Compound.” “Would you let me know what they are talking about?” A servant gave the other three companions a glance, hinting that they couldn’t say no to this Chief of the Inner Compound. They would have opportunities to rely on her. Sakura understood that all of them heard the gossip about the incident wherein Harun.o.bu had torn off her sleeve, based on their shared looks back and forth. So this news was spread from the Inner Compound to the whole family finally. “Chief, you’d better come in later. We heard that Suwa had some movement. Our master was planning to take some action against Suwa Yorishige,” a servant answered. Suwa? Her hand, which was holding the bottle, faltered. Yiu’s image appeared in her mind. Since she had hid her in the mountains, she’d only received a short letter from her, mentioning that she was well in the temple, only that she missed her father occasionally. Sakura burnt the letter, and didn’t reply to her. Now there was some strange movement of Suwa, she didn’t know what the key issue was, but seeing the door closed tightly by Harun.o.bu and the four servants guarding outside, she wondered if the situation was not good. Was the event she was worried about going to happen? When the discussing voices inside became lower, she stood up to knock, with the bottle of wine in hand. Many family officers were sitting there. She didn’t find Itagaki n.o.bukata. Two generals were sitting to the right and left of Harun.o.bu. One was old and the other was young. They must have had a quarrel with each other and were forced to stop by Harun.o.bu, thus both of them were still staring at each other emotionally, with red faces.
Chapter 29 Reconciled Sakura took a look at the two people, and then she glanced at Harun.o.bu. He didn’t respond to her, lowering his head, and thinking of some tough problem. Sakura wanted to know some more about this meeting, so she began to fill the generals’ cups one by one. In the quiet room, the sound of wine pouring in the cups was very clear and melodious. “Would you let me fill your cup, master?” Sakura went to Harun.o.bu last, and she poured the wine while she was asking his opinion. Harun.o.bu finally lifted up his head, staring at her with a strange expression, as if asking her why she’d become as polite as a stranger. “Master, why not wait for several more days? Maybe Suwa Yorishige just got the information that Yiu was missing. If so, he misunderstood us. Besides, Itagaki n.o.bukata had been to Suwa to negotiate. I think even if the negotiation fails, he should give Nene some concern.” n.o.bushige found his brother was absent-minded and he used this way to suggest to him to stop the meeting. Harun.o.bu nodded, wiping his sweat with his towel. He ordered them to dismiss. After a while, all the family officers left. Sakura found Harun.o.bu was laying against the wall beside him, using the towel to cover his face. His breathing was labored. She was curious and she went closer and squatted to uncover his towel. “Do you have a fever?” She never thought a strong one like him, who always yelled at her, would also be sick. She went out to ask a servant to call a doctor. Harun.o.bu took her hand for a while, and soon he released her. “Just a cold. My body is strong. With some sleep the illness will pa.s.s.” Sakura rolled her eyes at him. She went to the back of the folding screen and took out two thick quilts to cover him. “Get some warmth and let the cold out. I will make you some Chinese thorowax root soup. It’ll help bring down the fever.” “Sakura, I had thought that you were still mad at me for that event. I am sorry I was too hasty that day,” he said with a lowered voice as he took the quilt, still not looking at her. “Wow, you know how to say sorry. Anyway, I am not a petty one. You are our master, and it is our Kai’s luck that you are healthy.” “I thought that you were always fighting with people. I didn’t expect you would bring me a blanket.” Harun.o.bu smiled, forgetting he still felt bad. His smile was true and naughty. “Do you think anything already happened in Suwa? I noticed the two generals’ faces were tense. They must have had a quarrel just now.” Harun.o.bu sighed, saying, “Didn’t you hear n.o.bushige? The news of Yiu disappearing was spread to Suwa Yorishige. And he thought that it was me. Soon he will send a messenger to Kai, to make sure Yiu is safe. If we don’t find her immediately, Yorishige will have reason to announce the breaking of our two families, and then start the war.” “How could things change like this? If war breaks out, will Lady Nene be in danger? I saw Yorishige treated her well when I was her maid. Besides, Nene has a little prince now. Would Yorishige ignore his wife only because he is not sure about Yiu’s safety? Why not send some more servants to find Yiu? Anyway, don’t worry. I don’t think the messenger will come soon. Besides, Itagaki n.o.bukata was still there explaining to him.” “Now you know how to comfort me?” Harun.o.bu half-closed his eyes. “Anyway, I was once the maid of the two ladies. I don’t want to see you and Suwa fight. If so, they would get the short end of the stick.” Sakura pushed him with her elbow. “If you are being sincere with me, protect me with your best. I will be in danger if there’s war.” “I promise I won’t let you be hurt by the war.” As his hot breath that came near, Sakura found him circling her body with his arms. The fever was serious and his whole body was hot. She didn’t run away from him. This steady embrace melted her heart’s coldness. “Why don’t you push me away? Aren’t you afraid of my cold?” he asked. “Why did you put off making such a serious promise like protecting me until now?” “Because now I am sick and I have no strength left to quarrel with you.”
Chapter 30 A Sudden Change “What a fool you are! Who would like to quarrel with others without any reason? When Nene got married, you should have spoken directly to me. Why did you throw me a folding fan? I don’t understand your meaning of giving a fan to someone. Tell me now, what did you write on the fan?” “I forgot.” What? Could anyone forget the content of a love letter? Sakura felt it was a wrong decision to lay in his hold. “Do you really care about the fan? You already opened your heart to me. I don’t think the fan is still important. At least, you won’t easily leave me now. . . ” He kissed the back of her neck, and didn’t say a word. On the rough mountain road, she was walking on the steps covered by the falling gold-color leaves, to the temple where she had hid Yiu. It was about a ten-minute walk left before she arrived there. The temple was near Tsutsujigasaki, so that she could hide her there quickly, without being found. There was a Chinese saying that “The risky place was always safe.” She was confident that she could persuade Yiu before Harun.o.bu discovered this place. Thus she could let all the warring between the two families be avoided. But now her steps were heavier than before. Though the sweet-scented osmanthus smelled good, it didn’t make her feel better. Last night, Harun.o.bu didn’t ask her to be his sleep companion, nor did he mention that he needed her to accompany him in the future. He treated her politely, and that was what made her upset. Harun.o.bu was precious to her, she was sure. But to fall in love with an ancient j.a.panese man, especially the famous Takeda Shingen; she always felt this was unreal, like a dream or her own illusion, after the time-traveling. If she took Yiu back to Tsutsujigasaki, in which direction would history change? She couldn’t predict the future. If Yiu was sent back earlier, would Harun.o.bu marry her? It looked impossible. But if Yiu kept staying beside him, who could say that he wouldn’t have a change of heart? She was trying to figure out a perfect way to solve this problem. Hey, what are you thinking? she asked herself, and shook her head. Do you think the ancient j.a.panese would be focusing on the heart of one woman? Especially this daimyo. How naive! She was awakened by this sudden awareness. How could you be envious of Yiu, who hadn’t decided who should be his wife yet? She didn’t want to think more deeply on this issue. Yiu was her friend. “Master, I want to see the lady I sent here last time.” When she faced the abbot of the temple, she found his expression was a little strange. After a while, he answered her, “Female alms-giver, I can’t cover the truth from you. This morning, when my student went to give her breakfast, the woman was already missing.” “What? She was missing?” Sakura was shocked. But this was the truth. Last night, Yiu was still there, and she played a flute in the small garden of the temple. She went with the abbot to the small garden, checking it out, through and through. She didn’t find any trace of a fight. So, she was not taken by someone else. But she discovered her footprints in the earth. And another man’s steps beside hers. Did she willingly leave with someone? Was the man one of Suwa Yorishige’s? Was she heading toward Suwa now? Sakura was trembling the whole way back to Tsutsujigasaki. It was possible that someone had found Yiu and brought her back to Suwa. Sakura sat on the stone chair in the garden of Tsutsujigasaki, lost in her thoughts. She had already known the ancient peoples’ brightness; if this was also an event in history, she didn’t understand what should be her proper reaction. Yiu had been here for some time. If it was a man from Suwa, why didn’t he take action earlier? She suddenly thought of other two daimyos—one was Murakami Yoshikiyo of the north Shinoku, the other was Ogasawara Nagatoki of the middle Shinoku. Suwa was a field of Shinoku. Harun.o.bu had become the leader of Kai, and found a good relationship with Imagawa of Suruga. The other daimyos were all staring at his new movements. Maybe they were already cooperating with Suwa Yorishige. Harun.o.bu didn’t send out his own people to search for Yiu, so maybe he was waiting on Itagaki n.o.bukata’s reply for the next decision. But now it seemed that a war was inevitable. Sakura ran up quickly, asking the maid Cao to find n.o.bushige. After some time, n.o.bushige ran to the inner compound with a stunning message, that Harun.o.bu had already been to the camp of the enemy. He wanted to take action earlier. “What a horrible mess! n.o.bushige, why didn’t he tell me that he planned to fight first?” “He didn’t want you to worry about him. So he just kept the plans from you. But I didn’t guess the reason why you asked me here. What you wanted to talk about was such an issue.” He felt so helpless when he heard her story. Sakura was trying to speak more when she heard a sneer from behind. It was Madam Sanjō. She was trying to warn them; they had kept this kind of secret appointment on many occasions. Sakura rushed back to her room to change into some outerwear. n.o.bushige was quick to stop her, saying, “Hey, why are you, a woman, going to the camp with so many dangerous men?” “I can’t wait for Madam to make more trouble here in this urgent time. I should be staying beside him. Trust me, I have an offer on how to make sure this war has as few casualties as possible.”
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50