Because Sanako is much taller than Kinoshita Mai, when the two girls look at each other, they can look down at Kinoshita Mai and give Kinoshita Mai an invisible pressure. It can be said that Sanako takes advantage.

As soon as Sanako looked over, forced by Sanako's aura and her own weak mentality that always arises spontaneously when facing Sanako, Kinoshita Mai's delicate body trembled slightly, and her eyes wandered in an instant

Uncertain.

Looking at Kinoshita Mai who started to dodge her eyes and didn't dare to look at her, Sanako pursed her red lips.

Then--

"Ah……"

The left corner of Sanako's mouth curled up in an imperceptible arc, and she let out a sneer that even she herself didn't hear clearly.

Although Kinoshita Mai didn't hear Sanako's laughter...but she saw the slight smile on the corner of Sanako's mouth!

"Uh huh...!"

With a graceful movement, Kinoshita Mai put her hands on her belly and squeezed them tightly. Her little face turned red and swelled like a pufferfish.

At this time, someone finally noticed something strange about Kinoshita Mai.

"A Wu, what's wrong with you?" A Ding asked.

"No, it's nothing." In order to cover up her strangeness, Kinoshita Mai took out the pocket paper she carried with her and wiped the non-existent sweat beads on her face repeatedly and vigorously...

…

…

Although the Chiba family received an invitation from the Imperial Examination Center, unfortunately... Chiba Sadaikichi, who has been having physical problems from time to time since he got older, recently had an old injury relapse. He needs to rest.

I missed Kondo Isamu’s wedding banquet today.

Eijiro Chiba was far away in Mito Domain.

Chiba Michizaburo and Chiba Tamonshiro happened to be busy with important things today.

Therefore, only Chiba Jutaro and Sanako were present at the Chiba family today.

Due to the limited area of ​​the venue, in order to allow each guest to have enough space to sit, the banquet adopts a "group-shaped" seating arrangement.

To put it simply, it is like eating at separate tables, with more than a dozen people sitting together.

Hikaru Okita and Rintaro Okita naturally sat with Souji.

And Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai will definitely not be separated from the Furumaki couple who are familiar with each other and have not seen each other for a long time.

After Kiri and Mai took their seats, there happened to be two empty seats left at the "table" where Aoto was sitting... Seeing this, Chiba Jutaro said without thinking: "Oh! Tachibana-kun, do you still have empty seats here? Then I

Just sit here with Sanako!"

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro sat down involuntarily, assuming a posture of "I won't move until I die."

Ever since - this "table" in Qingdeng... Starting from Qingdeng, in clockwise order, the people seated are:

Aoto, Souji, Hikaru Okita, Rintaro Okita, Jutaro Chiba, Sanako, Mai Kinoshita, Boss Kiryu, Atachi, Goro Komaki.

Qingdeng + 3 girls + parents of these 3 girls...

It wasn't until Chiba Jutaro and Sanako sat directly across from him that Qingto realized that his situation at his "table"... seemed a little awkward.

Although Sanako and Chiba Jutaro knew Okita Hikaru and his wife, they were not very familiar with them.

As for the Furumaki couple, let alone them. Apart from Kiryu, Mai Kinoshita and Souji, there was no one they knew well around them.

It's just that - even though everyone is unfamiliar with each other, the atmosphere is unusually harmonious...

Chiba Jutaro is a "socially awkward person" who never knows what "stage fright" and "introversion" are.

Okita Hikaru, who became the head of the family early due to the early death of his parents, knows etiquette, understands etiquette, and is well-rounded.

As a son-in-law, Rintaro Okita has a more honest and honest temperament, but he is not a person who is not good at socializing and speaking in front of strangers.

Kiryu and Komaki and his wife show the demeanor of old people. They show their mature and steady aura when talking and laughing.

The parents of the three girls get along very well... but the three girls are very quiet...

Sanako didn't speak the entire time, with her head lowered and drinking tea in silence - but because Sanako was usually a quiet person who didn't like to talk, no one thought there was anything unusual about Sanako now.

Although Kinoshita Mai frequently talked to Kiryu and Furumaki beside her, she always glanced uneasily at Aintō, Sanako...and Souji.

Souji, who is usually very cheerful, has become a lot quieter now... no, ever since Kinoshita Mai and Sanako arrived one by one.

She glanced back and forth at Qingto, Sanako and Kinoshita Mai again and again with an observational gaze... and then silently stuffed a large mouthful of Jinpei candy into her mouth.

The banquet hall that was empty an hour ago was now packed to capacity.

With everyone's full expectations, the hands of the clock finally reached 11:30... Today's newcomer finally appeared!

Isamu Kondo, with his hair perfectly combed, stepped into the banquet hall with an imposing but nervous look on his face.

I saw that Kondo Isamu's upper body was covered with a long-sleeved and long-hem black haori. The back of the haori was embroidered with their family crest in five places. The base coat underneath the haori was also black. The lower body was wearing black and white stripes.

He wears hakama, his belt is tied into a cross knot, and his feet are wearing white socks.

Kondo's current outfit is a very standard "monori haori hakama".

The so-called "monosuke haori hakama" was the highest-level male dress in the Edo period. It was generally worn only on special occasions such as weddings and children's full moon ceremonies.

Following Kondo into the hall was naturally his future wife: a girl named Matsui Tsune.

Ever since Shusuke and Abi jointly announced that they would take Kondo on a blind date, the name "Matsui Tsune" frequently appeared in Qingteng's ears - but Qingteng had never seen this girl once.

At this moment, Qingto finally got to see what the girl who Zhousuke and Abi praised so much and Kondo dreamed about looked like.

Indeed, just as Shusuke, Kondo and the others had praised her so much before, this woman has excellent looks.

Overall, she has a very classic face, like a melon-seed face that came out of ancient literati paintings.

From the eyebrows to the neck, all the lines are so graceful and delicate.

She is a girl with a very gentle and delicate temperament.

Her face was smeared with white powder to a beautiful white color, her eyebrows were modified with eyebrow pencil, and her small red lips were covered with high-quality lipstick... Matsui, who was wearing bridal makeup, lowered his head slightly and folded his hands on his body.

He walked forward, following closely behind Kondo step by step.

Her hair is combed into a Bunkin Takashimada bun. The kimono, robe, robe, belt, and stockings are all as white as snow. The sword on the chest, lace, Suehiro and other accessories are also all white, and she wears it on her head.

The famous headdress called "white cotton hat" - this is what Matsui often wears now.

A "white cotton hat" is a large oval hat. Wearing a "white cotton hat" means not letting anyone except the groom see the bride's face before the wedding is over. It also means not bringing the bride's hair to the groom's family.

The "spiritual power" hidden in it means to eliminate disasters.

The outfit Matsui Tsune wears is exactly the wedding dress that girls in the Edo period would wear when they got married - Shiro Muzan.

In ancient Japan, white symbolized the color of the sun. It was both a sacred color and a color that represented purity and purity.

Since the Heian period (794-1192), pure white has become a respected color.

Starting from the Muromachi Shogunate Period (1336-1573), white kimonos were gradually used by samurai families as brides' dresses. By the time it evolved into the current Edo Shogunate Period, white kimono had become the dress worn by brides at exclusive weddings.

I have to say that Tsune Matsui, who wears beautiful light makeup and wears white clothes without a trace of dirt or impurities, is indeed extremely beautiful, exuding a holy aura.

"So beautiful..."

Suddenly, Qingden heard Kinoshita Mai's murmur.

He turned around and saw Kinoshita Mai's eyes straightened, staring at Matsui Tsune who was walking into the banquet hall without blinking.

Kinoshita Mai, whose attention was taken away by Matsui Tsune... to be more precise, by Shiro Muzan's beauty, her eyes shone with the same color as the sky outside the window.

Although the emotions were expressed very implicitly, Kinoshita Mai's emotions and feelings at this moment were well conveyed to Qingto.

When he came back to his senses, Aoto discovered that not only Kinoshita Mai was like this - Sanako was also looking intently at the clothes on Matsui Tsune.

The eyes of Sanako, who was aloof and not good at expressing emotions, were shining with a light that was weak but powerful.

Seeing the two girls looking blankly at Bai Wugu... Qingden's hands naturally rested on his legs, and he unconsciously tightened them, grabbing the hakama fabric at his thighs.

…

(Tachibana which one of them do you like? Do you have any plans to marry any one of them?)

…

(This kind of question shouldn’t be that difficult to answer, right? Just follow your own desires and follow your inner thoughts.)

…

Last night, what Hijikata and Souji said to Qingnobo flashed quickly in Qingnobo's mind.

Wave after wave of determination, like a rising flame, burned brightly in Qingdeng's eyes.

At this moment, Qingdeng had made up his mind.

It’s okay not to overestimate your own capabilities.

It doesn’t matter if you have an empty stomach and a high heart.

Qingdeng has no intention of withdrawing his decision.

But... it's a pity - although Aoden noticed the current appearance of Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, he failed to notice the expression of a certain beauty who was very close to him.
To be continued...