Chapter 1656 Three Sisters and Uninvited Guests
The next morning, the fleet weighed anchor and set sail from Sakai City.
Sen no Rikyu and others came to the dock to see him off, and Ieyasu kept shed tears and waved at the receding sail, expressing the sincere feelings of separation between family members.
After bidding farewell to his son, Zhao Hao returned to the cabin and sat down with Ma Xianglan in the main seat, waiting for the bride to serve tea.
After a moment, the eldest nephew walked in with a radiant face. A Shi was holding a tray and followed him with small steps and his head lowered.
Compared to the mourning-like Bai Wu Gou, the gorgeous colored gown with intricate patterns she was wearing now was much more pleasing to the eye, and she finally looked like a new bride.
"Uncle, aunt, my nephew has brought his wife to serve tea to you two elders." The eldest nephew said with a grin, "Ashi doesn't understand the customs of our Huizhou, uncle and aunt, please bear with her."
"I know. I won't treat your wife harshly." Zhao Hao rolled his eyes, thinking, does he treat the white-faced man as his beloved? Is it really that important?
The eldest nephew turned around and gave some instructions to A-shi who was looking down. He actually learned Japanese without knowing when...
Ah Shi nodded, and then he stepped forward and placed the tray on the table. Then he picked up a teacup, knelt down and offered it to Zhao Hao, and said in stiff Chinese: "Uncle, please have some tea."
"Okay." Zhao Hao took it with a smile, his eyes fell on Ah Shi's face, and he couldn't help but secretly exclaimed "Fuck it"... No, Mr. Zhao is a gentleman, he won't say "Fuck it" to travel the world. Suddenly, a line of words popped up in his mind: "A thousand flowers are like embroidery, and the crabapple is rouge after the rain."
Ah Shi washed off all her makeup today, finally revealing her true appearance. Her face was not only as white as jade, but also beautiful and impeccable. Especially her pair of dark eyes, which were very charming. No matter which country she was in, she would be considered a stunning beauty, right?
Different from the delicate, light and elegant women of the Ming Dynasty, her beauty is a kind of deep and dignified charm, which can arouse a man's deepest desires while making him unattainable.
Zhao Hao originally thought that she was already 32 years old and had gone through so many hardships, so she should have faded and lost her luster? But he was stunned, because this woman actually condensed the misfortune and shame that enveloped her into a halo, making her even more beautiful and heartbreaking.
Just like what the Japanese "The Tale of Genji" said, "This forms a supreme beauty. This year is more beautiful than last year, today is more beautiful than yesterday. It is always fresh and never tires of looking at it..."
"I drew this for her this morning. Is the craftsmanship okay?" While A Shi was serving tea to his aunt, Zhao Shizhen leaned close to Zhao Hao's ear and said with a smile.
"What?" Zhao Hao came back to his senses.
"Eyebrows." Zhao Shizhen pointed at Ah Shi's willow-shaped eyebrows, and said, "Is there any greater joy in the boudoir than drawing eyebrows?"
"You don't need to tell your uncle about this." Young Master Zhao coughed awkwardly, as if he was not the one who eavesdropped last night. However, it is said that this age match is very reasonable, and both parties will be very happy. Bah, what are you thinking!
"By the way, when did you learn Japanese?"
"I learned it a long time ago. Otherwise, what will we do if we can't communicate after we get married?" Zhao Shizhen looked at Ah Shi's back with satisfaction and said with infinite emotion: "Ten years, what can't you learn?"
He smiled smugly and said, "Otherwise, why would I have told Ah Shi last night that I wanted to marry her when I was fifteen. I waited for ten whole years before I finally got my wish. She was so moved that she couldn't help it."
“As long as you feel that these ten years of waiting were not in vain.” Zhao Hao thought to himself, wow, he didn’t expect him to be a master.
"It was worth the wait, absolutely not in vain!" Zhao Shizhen laughed, "My nephew, I am now married and a father, I am extremely happy."
"Puff..." Zhao Hao almost spit a mouthful of tea on his face, and then he realized, "Her three daughters also came with her? How come I didn't see them?"
"She was afraid that I would be unhappy. After begging me for permission last night, she asked her brother to send her to the ship this morning." Zhao Shizhen said with a smile, "Don't mention it. The three girls are all very cute. Uncle should meet them too."
"Of course." Zhao Hao smiled and touched his still young face and said, "It's not the first day I become a grandfather."
Because Xiwa has been married for several years and has given birth to three sons...
Zhao Shizhen then said a few words to A Shi, who looked delighted, nodded repeatedly, and walked away quickly.
"What did you say to her?" Sister Ma asked her nephew curiously.
"My aunt, I told her that my parents died early and it was my uncle who raised me. You are my real parents." Zhao Shizhen said with a smile, "So she is very happy that you want to see the children. Maybe she thinks that her daughters will be accepted."
"As a grandmother, have you prepared any gifts?" Zhao Hao joked to Sister Ma.
Ma Xianglan was only 27 years old, a charming young lady, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she heard that, she said, "You don't have to worry about it."
After a while, Aichi came in with three girls in yukatas.
The two older ones looked to be around ten years old, and the younger one was about six or seven years old.
The three little girls knelt on the ground and kowtowed to their grandparents. Then A-shi introduced them one by one, with the eldest nephew acting as an interpreter.
In fact, why did Zhao Shizhen need to translate? Zhao Hao was naturally familiar with the famous Asai sisters.
The oldest one, wearing a blue yukata and with a cold expression, was naturally Cha Cha. Zhao Hao looked at the 11-year-old girl and thought to himself that it was no wonder that Monkey wanted to marry her so much, because she looked most like A-shi, and was exactly like a younger version of her mother.
It is said that Monkey had always had a crush on Aichi. When Aichi was still unmarried, he even peeked at her bathing. After Asai died, Hideyoshi proposed to Aichi, but Aichi hated him for killing her husband and children and refused to obey. After Ieyasu died, she would rather marry an old man than agree to Hideyoshi.
Since Hideyoshi couldn't marry a mother, he married a daughter, so he married Chacha, who was 32 years younger than him...
Therefore, Chacha is also the most famous of the three sisters. She also gave birth to Hideyoshi's successor Hideyori. She is a key figure influencing the situation in Japan in the future.
The youngest child is called Ajiang, who is seven years old this year. She later married the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Tokugawa Hidetada, the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, and gave birth to the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu.
There was also a girl named Achu who was one year younger than Chacha. Later, Hideyoshi arranged for her to marry his brother-in-law, the famous firefly daimyo Kyogoku Takatsugu.
Why is he called the Firefly Daimyoji? Because Gaoci has no talent, and he only relied on his sister's "butt light" and nepotism to get ahead.
Although she is not as famous as her older sisters, compared to her cold older sister and timid younger sister, Ah Chu, who looks like a sunny girl, is more likable.
Who could resist showing their love to these three cute, well-behaved and sensible little girls? Especially Sister Ma, who loves children the most. She picked up the youngest, A Jiang, and gave them candies to eat. She also gave each of the three little girls a piece of her own jewelry.
Zhao Hao fell into deep thought, because he suddenly realized that if Chacha was taken away, Hideyoshi would not kill his godson if he could not produce an heir. Then how could his godson play the role of the young ruler and seize power?
A Jiang is easier to deal with. We can wait until she grows up and then marry her to the Tokugawa family. By then, the godson will marry the niece's granddaughter, which will be a perfect marriage!
Thinking about it this way, these three sisters still need to be trained well...
It took Mr. Zhao a while to come back to his senses. He saw that everyone was looking at him. Especially Ah Shi, whose face was full of fear. He was obviously frightened by his uncertain face.
"It's okay, it's okay. I was distracted." Zhao Hao smiled awkwardly and said, "Shizhen, explain to A-shi and tell her not to panic."
"Don't be afraid, Ashi. Your uncle is not one of those Japanese devils who kill people at will. He is our biological parents. How could he have any bad intentions?" Zhao Shizhen said to Ashi hurriedly.
Ah Shi nodded, and hurriedly apologized to Zhao Hao in Japanese, and then timidly asked: "Does uncle dislike them?"
After listening to Zhao Shizhen's translation, Zhao Hao shook his head and laughed, "How could that be? Tell her that they all have the surname Zhao. They are my children, Zhao Hao's, and the happiest little princesses in the world!"
After Zhao Shizhen and A Shi translated it, she burst into tears of joy and bowed profusely to her uncle.
"Okay, we're all family now, no need to be so polite." Zhao Hao smiled at Zhao Shizhen and said, "You two can go down to your own world, and just leave the child here."
"Thank you, uncle." Zhao Shizhen was overjoyed. He was newly married and had tasted the sweetness of life. He was worrying about where to put these three little light bulbs.
~~
After leaving Osaka Bay, the Coast Guard fleet went directly south through the Kii Channel between Shikoku Island and the Kii Peninsula and left Japan.
Then turn due west at 28.6 degrees north latitude to reach Amami Oshima Island in Ryukyu. Although this route is a bit roundabout, it can take advantage of the strong gyre formed by the Kuroshio Current hitting Shikoku Island and sail downstream throughout the journey, which can greatly shorten the voyage time and save the crew's physical strength.
After ten years of continuous survey, Jiangnan Group has mastered all the hydrological conditions of the four seas of the Ming Dynasty and explored various routes to cope with navigation in different seasons.
Of course, these routes are highly confidential to the group, even the captains only know which routes are available in the sea area where they are carrying out their missions. They have no idea about the routes outside the duty area.
Just as Zhao Hao's fleet was heading south, thousands of miles away in the Dongmen Strait, there was a lighthouse on the southernmost cape of Luzon Island.
The coast guard officers on duty discovered a tattered three-masted European sailing ship sailing towards the strait from the depths of the ocean.
This immediately aroused the officers and soldiers' vigilance, because since the lighthouse was built, the Spaniards no longer went through the Dongmen Strait. They would rather take a longer detour and go to Cebu from the Surigao Strait in the south, rather than risk passing through the enemy-controlled area.
Through a high-powered telescope, the police officer on duty discovered that the ship's flag was indeed slightly different from that of the Spanish.
Although they are all red crosses, they don’t have as many thorns as the Spanish ones, just two red bars.
By consulting the flag atlases of various countries, they discovered that it was actually a British ship!
"Oh my goodness, the British are here to join in the fun too?" Upon hearing the news, the lighthouse commander ordered in a deep voice, "Notify the fleet to intercept it!"
ps. Sorry everyone, my eyesight is still not good, so I only finished one chapter. Tonight is over, I dare not stay up late again. I am almost depressed to death, I can obviously wrap up and start writing the final chapter. But my eyesight is not good, I am so depressed! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
(End of this chapter)