Chapter 116 Han Kun's Maiden Voyage
"Ryoko, you should go back first! It's not like this is my first time at sea. Look, even my mother didn't come to see me off."
“You shouldn’t always give my father things; that will only make him more greedy. Just give him some food occasionally so he won’t starve.” Yamaguchi Ryoko handed the wicker basket to Shen Fu’s orderly and smoothed out a wrinkle on Shen Fu’s neat military uniform with her hand.
“Ryoko, no matter how much of a scoundrel your father is, he is still my father-in-law. Besides, don’t you have a younger brother? I’ll just give the things to your brother directly, and let your father go and curry favor with him!”
Shen Fu was very magnanimous. He felt that his concubine knew very well how to behave, and that the saying "to side with outsiders" was perfectly embodied in her. Liangzi's younger brother was the only family member who saw Liangzi off at the time. The scene of the two siblings hugging and crying was something Shen Fu could not forget for a long time.
"Thank you so much, my husband! I'll head back now. I hope you'll return safely soon!" Yamaguchi Ryoko paid no attention to the stares and jeers around her as she led her maid toward the carriage at home.
She used to feel very embarrassed by the stares and jeers, but a single sentence from Shen Fu changed her mindset.
"They're envious and jealous, envious of your beauty and jealous of my shitty luck."
At the time, he was a star officer delivering military mail to Hirado Port in Japan. His mischievous uncles tricked him into going to the best geisha house in Hirado. As a result, Chen Fu, who was prejudiced against Japanese geisha, took a liking to Yamaguchi Ryoko, who was still a "half-gyo" (trainee geisha).
Although Yamaguchi Ryoko's thick white powder and black teeth were somewhat frightening, her long legs, slim waist, and curvaceous figure perfectly matched Qin Mo's criteria for beauty. Shen Fu, Qin Mo's most loyal admirer, threw a bolt of silk, knocking the art gallery owner unconscious, and then took Yamaguchi Ryoko away.
After the white powder on Liangzi's face and the black paint on her teeth were washed off, Shenfu's uncles were filled with remorse and exclaimed that Liangzi's appearance was outstanding even in the top brothels of Daxia.
But what price would the top courtesan of Daxia cost? Liangzi isn't just all looks and empty shells; she speaks Daxia fluently and dances beautifully. Shen Fu, on the other hand, stepped in a real piece of dog poop.
Liangzi's father was an alcoholic who sold his daughter to pay for his alcohol. When Liangzi returned home to say goodbye, the old alcoholic only stared at Shen Fu and demanded a dowry. The old alcoholic was unusually bold; it was rare to see a Japanese person who dared to ask the Daxia people for something.
Shen Fu fulfilled the old drunkard's request, giving him only two rolls of Matsue cloth. But when they left Edo, only Ryoko's underage brother came to see his sister off, crying and saying that their drunkard father had sold the cloth and taken the money to Kyoto to see the big city and broaden his horizons.
Seeing that Ryoko Yamaguchi was on the verge of fainting from crying, Shen Fu had no choice but to find a job for his brother-in-law, Takashi Yamaguchi, at the Dai-Yuan Hall in Tangrencho, to ensure he wouldn't starve. Ryoko's meager income over the years had all been extorted by her alcoholic father every few days, and after he left, who knew if her younger brother would be sold off!
Shyly, Yamaguchi Ryoko met her mother-in-law, who was overjoyed. The kind old lady said, "A wife is chosen for her virtue, a concubine for her beauty. Such a beautiful concubine is a sign of a successful man!" As for the fact that she was from Japan, the old lady didn't care at all.
"You speak the Xia language so fluently, so what if you're from Japan? Once you enter my house, you're a big shot! The old prince even married an elf as his queen!"
Shen Fu smugly shouted to the jeering young men and lecherous old men around him, "Only the bravest men deserve such beautiful wives! If you want wealth, go sailing! If you want a beauty, go risking your life against the storm!"
"Really? I heard you were dragged to the art gallery by your Uncle Qiao!" Qin Mo's voice drifted from afar, crossing the crowd, making Shen Fu blush immediately.
"Your subordinate Shen Fu respectfully welcomes Your Highness aboard the ship!" Shen Fu waved and saluted, his military salute impeccably perfect.
"It's not that I want to board the ship, it's that Kai wants to go home to visit. You guys can take this opportunity to familiarize yourselves with the 'performance' of this new ship so that we can continue to improve it," Qin Mo said, returning a standard military salute to Shen Fu and addressing the captain and Shen Fu.
Han Kun, standing nearby, felt a chill run down his spine and looked at Kaihime beside the prince. Since the prince was using his own boat to send her back to her parents' home, what was her position? Could it be that she wasn't the prince's concubine, but was going to become his secondary consort?
The gray-haired Captain Xu respectfully invited Kaihime onto the ship; the experienced old man wouldn't make the slightest mistake. Only after the "Blue Star" sailed away from the harbor did Qin Mo wave goodbye to Kaihime on deck and turn to leave. This scene made everyone understand Kaihime's position in the prince's heart.
"Captain Han... We have a Natasha in our tribe, she's very beautiful. Could you... introduce her to His Highness?" Although Vasily was a big, simple-minded man, he could already understand basic Daxia language. After learning that Kaihime was His Highness's Japanese concubine, he immediately came to Han Kun, hoping to indirectly save his tribe and improve the situation of the Rakshasa.
"...You...jump down from here. You can climb back up when I let you." Han Kun said fiercely to the thing that looked like a big piece of wood but was actually a poisonous dragon grass, pointing towards the side of the ship.
"Gulp!" Vasily swallowed hard, looked at the sea outside the ship's side, estimated his swimming speed, and quickly climbed to the top of the mast, pretending to adjust the sail ropes.
The naval academy cadets sailed their sloops alongside the ship "Blue Star" that was taking them to school. Their sails were maneuverable, and they quickly reached top speed. After leaving Siam Water Harbor, they were gradually left behind by the "Blue Star".
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