Wearing clothes embroidered with three-leaf sunflowers, he called Tianzhangyuan "Mother"... The identity of the young man was already clear.

It was with the strong support of the "Nanki Faction" headed by Naomi Ii that he successfully defeated the "Ichitsubashi Faction" 2 years ago and succeeded Tokugawa Keifuku as the new general!

Two years ago, after the former shogun Tokugawa Iesada died of illness and he officially became the 14th shogun of the Edo shogunate, Tokugawa Keifuku changed his name to the current "Tokugawa Iemo" in accordance with the usual custom.

"Sir General...?" Tenzouin looked at Tokugawa Iemo who suddenly appeared in surprise.

The female officials standing behind Tenzōin quickly bent down and saluted Tokugawa Iemo.

Tokugawa Iemoge smiled and waved to the female officials, indicating that they would excuse themselves, and then slightly quickened his pace to rush to Tianzhangin.

Tokugawa Iemo is still only a 14-year-old boy this year, and there is only a 10-year age difference between him and Tenzōin.

Because Tenjoin is the royal wife of the former general Tokugawa Iesada, and in order to take over the position of general of the conquest of barbarians, after the "Nanki faction" won two years ago, Tokugawa Iemo became Tokugawa Iesada's adopted son.

Therefore, even though the age difference between the two is nothing like mother and son, Tenzouin is still Tokugawa Iemo's nominal mother. Whether in public or in private, Tokugawa Iemo will respectfully call Tenzouin "Mother"

.

"General," Tianzhangyuan asked, "Why are you here?"

"Mother..." Tokugawa Iemo smiled bitterly, "Did you...just quarrel with Ii again?"

Tianzhangyuan looked stunned.

She tilted her head and winked at the female officials behind her.

The female officers immediately understood and quickly backed away.

In an instant, a space was created where only Tenzouin and Tokugawa Iemo could be alone.

"Sir General." Tenzouin turned his attention back to Tokugawa Iemo.

On her face, there was a gentle smile that had never been shown when she met Naoki Ii just now.

There was a hint of helplessness in Tianzhangyuan's gentle smile.

"Every time I have a meeting with Mr. Big Boss, you will come over nervously and ask me, 'Did you quarrel with Jing Yi again?'"

Tokugawa Iemo laughed a few times.

"Mother, you and Ii are indispensable figures to me... no, to the shogunate and to this country."

When Tokugawa Iemo said the words "shogunate" and "country", he specially emphasized his tone.

"So I don't want to see you having frequent quarrels there..."

Looking at Tokugawa Iemo who lowered his head with a slightly worried look on his face, Tianzhangin smiled helplessly.

She subconsciously raised her hand, trying to stroke Tokugawa Iemo's hair out of habit.

But after raising her plain white palm, she suddenly discovered that her adopted son had grown as tall as her without even realizing it.

Apparently two years ago, when Tokugawa Iemo arrived in Edo and succeeded him as the new shogun, the young man was only as tall as her chest.

"Sir General, don't worry too much." Tianzhangin smoothed a strand of hair from Tokugawa Iemo's temples with gentle movements, "Sir Daibo and I... we just have slightly different political opinions."

"Political differences aside, Mr. Big Boss has always been a man I admire very much."

"Although I really don't want to admit it...but I have to agree - this country can't live without the big boss yet."

"The grand boss's majesty and governing skills have prevented a large number of careerists in this country from taking the lead and maintained the stability of the country."

"I have always recognized his loyalty to the shogunate and his determination to devote everything to the future of the shogunate."

"So——General, don't worry."

Tianzhangin slowly put down the hand that was stroking Tokugawa Iemo's hair, and the corners of his mouth curved in a gentle arc.

"The scene that you are worried about me turning against the big boss and fighting with him will never happen."

Hearing what Tenzouin said, the worried look on Tokugawa Iemo's face slowly faded away, and was replaced by a relaxed and cheerful smile.

However, as soon as his smile appeared... he froze.

"...Mother, speaking of Jing Yi... I have some bad news to report to you..."

Tokugawa Iemo looked around and after confirming that there were no outsiders around, he lowered his voice and said quickly to Tianzhangin:

"Just now, the new spies we sent to Mito Domain sent a report."

"We still haven't collected any information...about the group of Mito feudal lords who sneaked into Edo with the intention of assassinating Ii."

Tianzhangyuan's delicate eyebrows suddenly frowned...

One of them is the current general of the Edo shogunate, and the other is the current general of the Odaisho. More than a month ago, naturally, they both, like Ii Naomi, immediately lurked in the Mito domain.

The top-secret information was received from the spies: a group of Mito feudal lords will sneak into Edo and execute Tianxia on Ii Naomi.

Because the influence of this information is so great, if it is leaked, it will probably cause quite a panic. Therefore, until now, only Tokugawa Iemo, Tenzouin, Ii Naomi and other people in the shogunate know about this.

.

"How good is the confidentiality work..." Tianzhangyin half-closed his eyes, "These Mito feudal lords who intend to assassinate the elder... are far more cunning than we imagined..."

Tianzhangyuan's palms folded in front of him were slowly clenched.

"...Mother." After hesitating for a moment, Tokugawa Iemo breathed out a sigh of relief as if he had made up his mind, "As you just said, this country cannot be without Ii yet."

"Furthermore... speaking of personal feelings, I never want Jing Yi to be killed."

"So, I have a plan now. Mother, would you like to hear my plan?"

Tianzhangyuan was startled: "General, please tell me."

…

…

Edo Castle, Ii Naomi's office——

Naoki Ii sat cross-legged behind a desk piled with many documents, scanning a document in his hand intently.

When Naoki Ii was concentrating on handling state affairs, he didn't notice the footsteps beside him——

"Iiyo."

Ii Naobi's expression suddenly froze, and then he quickly raised his eyes from the document in his hand.

"Sir General...?!" Ii Naobi quickly put down the documents in his hand, then turned around and leaned down towards Tokugawa Iemo who was walking towards him with a smile, "Why are you here?"

After waving his hand to signal Ii Naobi to raise his head quickly, Tokugawa Iemo who had already walked up to Ii Naobi slowly squatted down.

"Jing Yi, I...have something to tell you."

The additional spies sent by Tokugawa Iemo to Mito Domain did not yield any results. They still had not found out the detailed information about the group of Mito Domain warriors who intended to assassinate Ii Naobi, so they quickly informed Ii Naobi.

After hearing the so-called bad news from Tokugawa Iemo, Ii Naomi... reacted quite indifferently.

"...Sir General." After a moment of silence, Naomi Ii knocked his head towards Tokugawa Iemo again, "I am truly sorry...I have made you worry about these trivial matters."

"In other words," Tokugawa Iemo smiled, "Not only should ministers share the worries of the monarch, but the monarch should also think more about his ministers."

In the market, there are often people who make such grounded remarks - Ii Naobi is an ambitious and powerful minister! He currently controls the shogunate on the grounds that "the general is young". When the general grows up in the future, Ii Naobi will definitely

He continued to cling to power and refused to return power to Tokugawa Iemo.

If some people who had more contact with Tokugawa Iemo and Ii Naomi heard these rumors, they would definitely sneer at them.

Anyone who knows a little about the relationship between these two people knows very well that the relationship between Tokugawa Iemo and Ii Naomi, who fought together in the "Hitobashi Nanki Controversy", and the CCP's advance and retreat, is far better than that of some people in the city.

What people think is much more intimate.

"We have stepped up our efforts to detect intelligence, but we still haven't gotten clear information about the Mito feudal lords who intend to assassinate you."

"These assassins are far more cunning than we thought."

"This also shows that this assassination attempt by these assassins must have been carefully planned and not just a small incident."

A look of solemnity crept up onto Tokugawa Iemo's face little by little.

"Jing Yi, whether it's because of love or reason, I don't want to see you killed."

"I just discussed it with my mother."

"We plan to let you temporarily step down from your position as the boss."

"Before the storm subsides completely, hide in a safe place in Edo for a while."

"Jing Yi, what do you think?"

Ii Naoki's expression changed rapidly several times in an instant.

He was stunned at first.

After staring at Tokugawa Iemoji with surprised eyes for a while, he slowly pursed his lips, and the surprise in his eyes slowly turned into a touch of relief.

"...General."

Ii Naoki lowered his head again.

"Thank you and His Highness Tianzhangyuan for your concern."

"But...if I temporarily step down from my position as elder, Ando Nobumasa and the others may cry."
To be continued...