Chapter 57 The Conspiracy of the Three Great Families 1

Ranlu returned to the citadel in a good mood and distributed the tea from Hanzhou to several old tea-loving fellows, including Yagen.

The spirits all saw the new golden bell necklace around her neck, but they all chose not to ask any questions.

"Lord Hanzhou also gave me a jar of jasmine tea. I'll go try it later," Ranlu said, carrying the tea jar as she walked towards the castle tower.

"Oh, by the way, I'll be visiting Lord Hanshu's citadel quite often from now on. If any of you want to go, remember to let me know."

Ranlu left without giving the spirits any time to react, dashing back to the castle tower as if a ghost were chasing her.

After parting ways with Ranluo, Hanzhou didn't return to the citadel immediately; she had long suspected she was being followed. She first found a quiet place to destroy the documents in her hand, then vanished from the spot.

The man who had been following them scratched his head in bewilderment as Han Zhou remained nowhere to be seen for some time.

Where did they go? How did they suddenly disappear?

Before he could make his next move, he only saw a flash of golden light in his vision, and he forgot his original purpose. His memories of the day were silently altered.

Watching the departing figure, Han Zhou, who had concealed himself, crossed his arms and coldly glanced at the suddenly increased number of spies around him.

What are these three families planning to do that they've sent so many people out?

It seems we'll have to keep Ranluo and the others on the line lately.

When Hanzhou returned, she had already seen the vibrant color displayed in the office.

The main color scheme is a delicate purple lavender, with some herbaceous plants as a background and scattered daisies as accompaniment, perfectly highlighting the lavender as the main element.

This bouquet of flowers is clearly the work of Sozo. Koyuki and Sayo were probably just helping out, but... it's undeniably beautiful.

She inhaled the fragrance of the flowers, exhaled a relaxed breath, and temporarily put aside all the worries about the three major families.

"Hey—may I come in?" A lazy, casual voice rang out, accompanied by a belated, symbolic knock on the door.

"It's rare that you actually came to see me," Han Zhou said, looking at Akashi Kuniyuki, who was leaning against the doorframe with a nonchalant air. When he first arrived at the citadel, Akashi Kuniyuki wasn't nearly as lazy as he was now.

Instead, they remained vigilant at all times, and only after confirming that they were truly trustworthy did they revert to their original lazy and casual demeanor.

Actually... I

Before Akashi Kuniyuki could finish speaking, two small heads peeked out from behind him. Hotarumaru and Aiichi, clutching their guardian's trouser legs, smiled at Han Zhou.

"Hehe, Guohang is here to give a thank-you gift!" Ai Qi Guojun tugged at his guardian's sleeve, signaling him to take out the gift.

Han Zhou stared blankly for a moment as Akashi Kuniyuki pulled out a somewhat awkward Chinese knot.

"This is something we made together, it might not be very exquisite, my lord... please don't mind." Hotarumaru took the Chinese knot and handed it to Hanzhou, his expression somewhat uneasy and apprehensive.

Below this Chinese knot is a small regular tetrahedron, on which are carved the knife patterns of the three people who came to attack.

Hanzhou crouched down and took the Chinese knot from Hotaru with both hands.

"Do you... know what it means?"

The Seven Star Sword and the Heiji Shorin Sword are no longer in the citadel, so making a nice Chinese knot is no easy feat. Although Laipai's knot is a little crooked, it's still quite good overall, which is remarkable for their first attempt.

"I know! Peace, happiness, and reunion!" Ai Qi Guojun replied quickly. "We borrowed the terminal from Tsurumaru-dono and found the instructional videos on it."

"It took a lot of rope!"

Hanzhou prepared to frame the Chinese knot in her hand and place it on her desk. She gently patted the two little ones' heads before standing up.

"Thank you, I will accept your blessings."

"Ah... Actually, if anyone should thank someone, it's us who should thank you," Akashi Kuniyuki said, taking Hotarumaru and Aishi's hands.

"If it weren't for your help back then, we don't know what kind of future we would be facing."

As Hanzhou watched Hotarumaru and Aishichi about to follow their guardian and express their gratitude, she immediately interrupted them before they could finish speaking.

"Please inform everyone that a banquet will be held tonight beneath the Manyo Cherry Blossoms."

"A banquet is going to be held? That would be so much fun! Let's go!"

Watching the two little ones run off into the distance, and Akashi slowly bowing to her before leisurely catching up with Aishi and the others.

It's good to relax a bit before things get out of hand. As for what to do with the remaining three auction houses…

Before she could even sit down and think of a solution, she sensed a message from the little fox that had remained in the Honmaru.

—Honrei Honmaru—

The previously relaxed atmosphere now felt tense, as several composed and collected tsukumogami surrounded the little fox.

"The three major families have been making more and more moves lately, I wonder what kind of trouble they're up to," Tsurumaru Kuninaga said, reaching out to touch the little fox.

This little guy is usually very arrogant. Apart from the Seven Star Sword and the Bingzi Pepper Forest Sword, whether anyone else can touch it depends entirely on the little guy's will.

Snap—

The little fox's tail slapped Tsurumaru Kunio's mischievous hand.

"Whoa, little guy, you're so rough! I'll tell Lord Hanzhou on you later!"

But the little guy completely ignored Tsurumaru Kuninaga's "threat," instead giving him a defiant glance, as if to say, "Go ahead and see who Lord Kanshu trusts."

Yagen shook his head helplessly.

The little fox's ears suddenly twitched, its golden beastly eyes glowed slightly, and although its mouth didn't move, it could still hear sounds.

"Is there something you need from me?"

Han Zhou's voice came from the little fox. She was temporarily diverting some of her five senses to this clone, which did not affect the actions of her main body.

“In the past few days, the protective array of the citadel has been frequently touched. This morning, it even caused a loud commotion in the citadel,” Mikazuki immediately explained to Kanshu. They didn’t understand the array, but they knew that such a commotion could cause such a disturbance.

This is enough to show that the three major families are quite capable.

Upon hearing this news, Hanshu, who was in his own Honmaru, unconsciously frowned, his hand unconsciously stroking the Chinese knot that had not yet been framed.

"They can't break through the formation, you can rest assured. The loud noise was because they were trying to break through my formation."

The three major families probably already guessed that they had been in contact with Benling.

"It seems the three major clans are about to get restless." Higekiri was the Minamoto clan's prized sword, and he was used to clan conflicts; he had seen similar situations many times before.

"Let's put the matter of the three major families aside for now. There's a banquet at my citadel tonight. Would you like to come?"

Tsurumaru Kuninaga's eyes lit up

Can we all go?

"Sure, my citadel is huge. Anyone who wants to come is welcome. I'll open a time-space portal for you so you can go back anytime."

As soon as Han Zhou finished speaking, Tsurumaru Kuninaga immediately agreed.

"I really want to go! I'll definitely go!"