I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 794 A unique grand wedding! [Leopard Update 7K1]

Snow-white clothes, charming makeup, graceful posture... the three girls, supported by their respective parents, slowly moved to Qingdeng's side.

From the moment the three women appeared on the stage, Qing Deng seemed to have lost his soul. His eyes were staring straight ahead without blinking, his gaze fixed firmly on the figures of the three women.

Seeing this, Kiryu's boss asked half-jokingly:
"Jujun, what's wrong? Are you seeing things?"

Boss Kiryu's words finally brought Qing Deng back to his senses.

He curled up the corners of his mouth and took several deep breaths to calm his emotions a little, especially the heart in his chest that was beating so hard that it seemed like it was going to jump out of his throat.

"Well, you're right."

"When I saw them, I was dazzled by their unprecedented beauty and almost fainted."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sanako, who was standing next to him, said unhappily:
"Really...don't say such disgusting things..."

Although she said this, her voice was faintly filled with joy, the corners of her lips were slightly raised, and an expression of shyness that could not be hidden appeared between her cheeks.

Mai Kinoshita and Souji were in the same mood, both with shy looks on their faces.

Dressed in pure white, with their hair tied up, and wearing large white cotton hats... the outfit the three girls were wearing was exactly the bride's wedding dress - Bai Wu Gou.

In ancient Japan, white symbolized the color of the sun and was considered a sacred color. It was often used in priest clothing and later gradually evolved into a bride's dress.

Shiromuku - a kimono that is completely white from the inside out, including the upper garment, the undergarment, the obi, the cloth socks and even the small items worn are all white.

The white color of the white wuzui represents cleanliness and purity, and also means that after entering the husband's house, the child can be dyed into various colors, making it easy to integrate into the family.

“Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse” - this old saying passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors is really true.

After putting on the White Wedding Dress, perhaps because of the style of the clothing, or perhaps it was the effect of the color, the temperaments of the three women all changed significantly - becoming elegant and gentle.

Every gesture and movement is as gentle as a spring breeze.

Even Zongsi, who is always laughing and joking on weekdays and has nothing to do with the word "elegant", has become graceful and feminine at this moment.

Out of personal preference, Qing Deng is particularly fond of elegant and luxurious clothing such as Shiromuku and Ofurisode.

And the flawless white like snow happens to be one of Qingdeng's favorite colors.

In other words, the three girls' current outfits perfectly hit Qing Deng's sexual fetish!
Therefore, what he just said, "I felt dizzy and almost fainted," was not entirely a joke.

Until now, the heart in his chest was still beating vigorously "boom boom boom" like a war drum, and the blood in his body was accelerating, and it took a long time to calm down.

Under the arrangement and dispatch of the shrine maidens, everyone took their positions and prepared to enter the shrine.

At this moment, Qing Deng seemed to have made up his mind. He suddenly turned his head and looked straight at the three women.

The three girls noticed his gaze at the first moment and turned their heads to look at him at the same time.

Looking at the three beautiful faces in front of him, Qing Deng showed an extremely serious expression and spoke word by word:

"Sanako, Ama, Xiao Si, you all look beautiful today!"

For women, the white wedding gown is an important garment that they only wear once in their lifetime.

Qing Deng had no way of knowing how the three women felt now.

But he guessed: it was the first and last time for them to wear this holy garment that symbolized happiness, and besides being nervous, they must also be excited and looking forward to it.

As their husbands, it would be unreasonable if I didn't say something at this time!

Just like that, Qing Deng held on to this mood and blurted out "You are so beautiful" all at once.

After he finished speaking, he immediately felt relieved.

His sudden praise made the three women stunned, as if they were stunned, and they turned into clay sculptures and wooden carvings one by one.

About 5 seconds later, the surprise finally turned into sound:

Zuo: "Stupid, idiot! Why are you saying such disgusting things again...!"

Wu: "Mmm...! Thank you, thank you..."

Si: "Hey, Ju Jun, if you like my outfit, I can wear it more often in private in the future~~"

Although the three women spoke different words, the changes in their expressions at that moment were extremely similar - their faces were visibly hot, and their eyes became chaotic and blurred due to intense shame.

The most shy Mai Kinoshita reacted the most violently - faintly visible translucent steam floated out from her head, penetrated her white cotton hat, floated into the air, and lingered for a long time.

No wonder they reacted like this.

After all... this place is quite "lively" now.

Aoto's relatives and friends (Kyubei, Shinsengumi generals), their relatives and friends... nearly a hundred people in total, were standing behind them, preparing to enter the shrine with them later.

In other words - Qing Deng just said something in front of nearly a hundred people that they thought was very shameful!

Anyone who has had similar experiences can probably understand this feeling.

The same embarrassing scene may not seem strange if it is played out in front of strangers.

But it would be extremely shameful to show it in front of acquaintances, especially family members!
The three girls have been deeply influenced by Confucian culture (Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism) since they can remember.

Therefore, they are accustomed to being graceful and reserved.

They are really not used to this bold behavior of "saying you are beautiful in public".

When they thought about how their interactions with Qing Deng were all seen by their relatives and friends behind them, they instantly felt their whole bodies getting hot!
Even the jade feet wrapped in white socks unconsciously clenched, and the cute silkworm-like toes gripped the flat wooden clogs tightly.

In fact, it was just as they expected - the relatives and friends behind them immediately showed playful reactions.

Some pursed their lips, some looked away, some covered their mouths with their hands to stifle their laughter... In short, they were all trying their best to hold back their laughter.

Of course, being shy is being shy.

Although Qing Deng's unexpected praise caught them off guard, making them at a loss and blushing.

But besides shame, other emotions gradually appeared on their pretty faces.

While muttering "Really...", Sanako subconsciously raised her hands, adjusted the lapels on her chest and the white cotton hat on her head, and smoothed out every wrinkle, as if she was trying her best to maintain the beautiful image that Qing Deng mentioned.

At the same time, she quietly raised her eyes and glanced at Qing Deng.

When Qing Deng's tall figure filled her eyes, her face turned even redder... more correct, even pinker.

Coincidentally, as if they had agreed in advance, Mai Kinoshita and Souji did the same thing - while adjusting their clothes, they secretly glanced at Qing Deng, their faces gradually turned red, and their expressions became strange.

Their coy expressions seemed to be saying to Qing Deng: "Well...why don't you praise me a few more times...?"

……

……

Compared with a wedding ceremony held in front of humans, a wedding ceremony held in front of gods is undoubtedly much more complicated and time-consuming.

The process of the former is very simple - gather relatives and friends, read the wedding vows in public, and then have a meal together, and that's it.

If you find it too troublesome, you don’t even need to read the oath. Just call all relatives and friends, let them see who their husband/wife is and what they look like, and then you can enjoy the feast happily.

In contrast, the processes and links of the latter are so numerous that it is outrageous.

The first is “participation”.

This is the first ceremony of the Shinto wedding.

The musicians playing classical music were in the front.

The bride and groom, as well as their relatives and friends, marched toward the temple together.

This is how “participation” begins.

This is not just about moving places; it requires one to calm one's mind and reach a peaceful state of mind that is consistent with the ritual.

Because you are entering the holy area where gods live, you cannot speak or look around. You must concentrate and move towards the temple meticulously.

And now, Qing Deng and others are experiencing this stage.

The bride and groom are at the head of the team, the groom's relatives and friends stand behind the groom, and the bride's relatives and friends stand behind the bride. Everyone takes their positions and arranges themselves into two columns.

Because there were three brides and the grooms had surprisingly few relatives and friends, the sizes of the two queues were overwhelmingly different.

Qingdeng has neither parents nor blood relatives, and the entire family appears to be in a state of decay, as if the family line may be cut off at any time.

Fortunately, after receiving Qing Deng's invitation, the three good friends of his late father Tachibana Takayuki - Arima Hideyuki, Itani Hanjiro, and Ushiyama Masatsugu - all put down their work and rushed to Kyoto to attend the banquet as scheduled.

Thanks to their appearance, the "groom team" behind Qingdeng was greatly enriched.

Because there is a real lack of elders, Qing Deng can only bring Boss Kiryu to fill the scene.

There is a saying that goes "Once a teacher, always a father."

It is not wrong for Mr. Kiryu, who is also a master, to be the parent of Qing Deng.

Then, Qing Deng brought over brothers including Yamanami Keisuke, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and Fujido Heisuke.

In this way, his "group of relatives and friends" finally became a little bigger.

By the way, in terms of actual identity, Kondo Shusuke is Souji's adoptive father, while Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo and Inoue Genzaburo are Souji's sworn brothers.

Therefore, the identities of the four of them in today's wedding are the general's family members, and they are standing in the "bride's line".

The positions of the "groom team" are roughly as follows:
Aoto stood at the front, followed by Kiryu Boss, then Arima Hideyuki, Ito Hanjiro, Ushiyama Masatsugu, then Kyubei, Yamanami Keisuke and others.

When Qing Deng specifically asked Kyubei to join the "groom's team", he was so scared that he crawled on the ground and refused to accept.

The reason he gave was simple - I am just a servant, how can I be qualified to join the young master's "family and friends group"?
Although his attitude was firm, Qing Deng's attitude was even firmer.

"Kyubei, don't be so fussy. I have always regarded you as a relative. In that case, how can I exclude you?"

In order to express his gratitude to this loyal old servant who never left the Tachibana family when they were in the most difficult times, Qing Deng gave him the utmost respect.

Kyubei was so moved that he cried so hard that he almost fainted... We will not go into the details of this incident for now.

When everything was ready, the musicians standing in the front and taking the lead picked up their instruments and began to play softly.

The melodious music spreads to all directions.

Although this is a very solemn Shinto music, to be honest, Qing Deng really cannot appreciate it.

At first glance, he always felt that this was the sound of funeral music...

In this way, led by the musicians, the group walked towards the temple slowly and leisurely.

After a while, the view suddenly opened up - in front of me was the magnificent temple, and at my feet was the spacious square in front of the temple.

The left and right sides of the square were already filled with guests.

When Qing Deng and others showed up, the whole audience suddenly gasped.

Shock, envy, jealousy... gazes with all kinds of emotions fell on the bride and groom.

The reason why the guests reacted so strongly was not only because the bizarre scene of "one groom, three brides" was truly unique, but also because the appearance of the bride and groom was so stunning that it was hard to look away!

The groom is a majestic and heroic figure among men.

The brides are even more amazing! Each one is a beauty!
The stunning face, coupled with the elegant and graceful white wedding dress... the two together create a "1+1>2" effect! It's so beautiful that it makes your eyes dazzled!

Not to mention the "Most Beautiful Woman in Edo", who is a stunning beauty in the world.

The brides' stunning looks meant that most of the "sharp eyes" at the scene were directed towards Qingdeng.

To put it in a clichéd way…if sight could kill, Qing Deng would have died hundreds of times.

The numerous male guests present all cast envious and jealous glances at Qing Deng.

One person possesses three stunning beauties... Just imagining it makes one's teeth ache! One feels an indescribable sense of frustration!
In the love field, battlefield, officialdom, he is successful in every field... Even if you are a strange man known as the "incarnation of the benevolent king", you can't be like this!

After “participation”, it is time to “enter and take a seat”.

Qing Deng and the three women were facing the temple. The groom was sitting on the right side of the center front, and the bride was sitting on the left side.

The groom's family sits on the right side, and the bride's family sits on the left side, facing each other.

If there is a matchmaker, he or she will sit on the right side behind the groom, and the matchmaker's wife will sit on the left side - because there is no matchmaker at today's wedding, these two seats are empty.

However, if I have to say... Qing Deng's matchmaker was actually Boss Kiryu.

That day, it was because he walked into Senjitsuya that he was able to meet Mai Kinoshita.

That day, it was because Boss Kiryu introduced him to Shieikan that he was able to meet Souji and then Sanako.

It is no exaggeration to say that Boss Kiryu is the "origin" connecting Qing Deng and the three women!
When Qing Deng thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh: Boss Kiryu's help to him was almost equivalent to a rebirth. After everyone took their seats, they entered the third stage: purification.

The so-called "Shufu" is a Shinto ritual in which one prays to the gods to forgive sins and stains.

Qing Deng and the three women stood up and bowed at the instruction of the witch.

The master of purification takes out a string of "marijuana" and recites the purification words in a singing tone to remove the "filth" from the bride and groom:
"By the orders of the high-ranking god Raki-gami Rumei, and by the orders of the emperor's ancestral god Izanagi, Awa-kihara built the purple Hinata orange gate, and the great gods of the Ushu who were born from the purification of the evil spirits, purify and purify all disasters and sins. Dirty, I am afraid to worship the eight million gods of Tianjin Kingdom in Tianjin, and they are begging like a spotted horse in the sky and listen to them..."

After the purification ceremony, it is the turn of the bride and groom to offer blessings to the gods.

"Blessings" refers to the prayers that the bride and groom report to God, hoping for eternal happiness.

First, everyone stood up and bowed together at the instruction of the shrine maiden.

Then they recited blessings together, reporting to the gods and hoping for eternal happiness.

Because marriage needs the support of family, relatives and friends, all the relatives and friends of both parties present should listen to the blessing with a grateful attitude.

While Qing Deng was reciting the blessing, he kept thinking:

Inari is the god of grain and food, in charge of the harvest.

Is it really useful to pray to the "God of Agriculture" for a happy marriage?

As he was thinking about this, the wedding began to enter the next stage: the shrine maiden dance.

As the name suggests, this ceremony is a dance dedicated to the gods.

The musicians played classical music with dragon flutes, 篳紀 and phoenix sheng.

The priestesses dressed in white and red robes danced to the music, performing the "Dance of Enrichment".

Simply put, it is a dance that blesses the bride and groom.

As soon as he saw the witch, Qing Deng subconsciously thought of Tianzhangyuan.

Given his friendship with Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshoin, there was naturally no reason not to invite the mother and son to attend his wedding.

Tokugawa Iemochi declined bluntly - this was also what Qing Deng had expected.

Nowadays, Ichibashi Yoshinobu has become a retired official, Matsudaira Harutake has resigned, and the "Ichibashi faction" has declined... Since his accession to the throne, Tokugawa Iemochi has integrated the various factions of the shogunate for the first time and become the [real] Shogun.

If he does not seize this rare window of opportunity, step up efforts to clean up bad policies and strengthen his strength, then all his years of forbearance and hard work will probably be in vain.

At this critical moment, countless government affairs piled up on Tokugawa Iemochi's desk.

He is very busy now and really doesn't have the time to come to Kyoto.

However, as compensation, he sent a gift to Qingdeng - a lot of supplements.

Korean ginseng, high-grade wolfberry, tiger penis, deer penis, bear penis... and so on.

When Qing Deng saw these supplements, his mouth twitched subconsciously.

He seemed to vaguely hear Tokugawa Iemochi say to him: Come! You're welcome! Take all these supplements! Hurry up and give birth to a child!

Then again, Qingdeng had never been whipped in his life.

Not to mention eating it, I've never even seen it.

Therefore, although he felt complicated, he silently accepted Tokugawa Iemochi's gift and prepared to slowly savor these delicacies.

By the way - he was simply curious about the taste of these supplements and had no other thoughts.

Compared to Tokugawa Iemochi's clear refusal, Tenshoin gave a vague response: If I have time, I will come quietly~~
As an old acquaintance of the other party, Qing Deng knows Tianzhangyuan very well.

With her quirky and mischievous personality, she would not make a sound even at the wedding scene. She would definitely hide secretly and wait for an opportunity to give Qingdeng a "surprise".

In fact, the reason why Qing Deng left the room and went outside just now was not only to kill time, but also to find Tianzhangyuan.

Unexpectedly... instead of finding Tianzhangyuan, I ran into the "bride's relatives and friends" headed by "Qianye"...

Soon, the witches' dance ended.

In the previous stages, it was basically the clergy of the shrine who were busy.

It is both a "purification" and a "dance".

Qing Deng and others basically just sat there with nothing to do.

Fortunately, after the priestesses finish their dance, the bride and groom's sense of participation will be greatly increased in the next stages.

The first is the "Oath Ceremony".

Simply put, it means drinking from the same cup of wine.

This "交杯酒" is not the same as that "交杯酒". It does not mean a man and a woman drinking with their arms around each other. It has a whole set of complex steps.

The official name of the ceremony is "Three Three Nine Degrees of the Cup", or it is called "Three Offerings Ceremony".

The bride and groom perform a ceremony of exchanging three wine glasses before the gods to prove their eternal marriage contract.

There is a fixed order for exchanging wine glasses - the first glass is groom → bride, the second glass is bride → groom, and the third glass is groom → bride.

Odd numbers were auspicious in ancient times, so "using three wine glasses and drinking three times from each glass" was considered a good omen. Exchanging each wine glass three times would be nine times.

The witch who pours the wine will tap the bottle three times, and then actually pour the wine the last time.

When the bride and groom are drinking, they take the first two sips with their lips close to the glass and peck at it lightly, and then drink the third sip.

The first cup is to pay tribute to the God who cares for the newlyweds.

The second cup is to pay tribute to the parents who raised us.

The third cup is to toast relatives, friends, etc.

In this way, every glass of wine has a very profound meaning.

Qing Deng held a delicate bright red wine glass, and the witch beside him poured wine for him gently.

The wine glass is very small to begin with, and the witch would not fill it up, but only half of it.

With such a small amount of wine, it's only half a sip at most.

Qing Deng obediently followed the etiquette, drank the wine glass upside down in three times, and then passed it to Kinoshita Mai on his left.

The seating order of Aoto and the three girls is as follows - from right to left they are Aoto, Mai Kinoshita, Souji and Sanako.

There is no special meaning behind this seating arrangement; it is simply arranged in the order of "acquaintance with Qingdeng".

Aoto first met Mai Kinoshita, then Souji, and finally Sanako.

In this way, the big problem of "who will sit next to Qingdeng" can be solved fairly, and no one will have any complaints.

The shrine maiden moved to Mai Kinoshita's side and poured wine for her.

buzzing buzzing...

Suddenly, Qing Deng heard a strange sound.

At first, he thought it was a bee.

But when he looked in the direction of the sound, he realized that it was not the buzzing of bees, but Kinoshita Mai's hands shaking...

Fortunately, the wine in the glass was not completely full, but only half, otherwise it would have spilled all over the floor - at this moment, Qing Deng seemed to understand why the witch only poured half a glass of wine.

Mai Kinoshita's hands were shaking violently, like a sieve.

So much so that after taking the wine glass, the cup body made a strange "buzzing" sound due to the violent shaking.

Because of the large white cotton hat blocking her view, Qing Deng couldn't see Kinoshita Mai's current expression.

But he guessed that his face must have turned bluish white due to extreme tension.

A magnificent temple, thousands of guests, a once-in-a-lifetime wedding...it was inevitable that the introverted Mai Kinoshita would feel nervous.

Seeing this, Qing Deng lowered his voice and said softly,

"Awu, don't be afraid, just follow the process I just gave you."

After listening to Qing Deng's encouragement, Kinoshita Mai's "hand tremor" got a little better.

She closed her eyes, quickly drank the wine in three gulps, and then passed the glass to the next person, Souji.

Qing Deng thought that Zongsi, who was carefree and not particular about details, would not feel nervous.

But I didn’t expect——

buzzing buzzing...

The same "bee buzzing"...

However, although she was nervous, her movements were not slow at all.

As soon as she took the glass, she drank it all according to the procedure and then passed the glass to the last person.

Before taking the wine glass, Sanako muttered in a helpless and confident tone:
"Really? Why are you so nervous? It's just a wedding. It's no big deal."

As she spoke, she stretched out her slender hand with great enthusiasm and took the wine glass.

Then--

buzzing buzzing...

Qingdeng: "..."

Kinoshita Mai: “…”

General Manager: “…”

The man and two women stared blankly at Sanako, who was motionless except for her hands, which were shaking crazily. She looked like she was petrified.

Sanako stared at the wine glass in his hand, neither saying a word nor moving.

After a long while, she drank the wine quietly, then calmly returned the glass to the witch.

Qing Deng realized belatedly that Sanako was quite resilient - after being slapped in the face at the speed of light, she was still able to act calmly as if "nothing happened".

Finally, after changing three wine glasses and everyone took nine sips of wine, the "cup oath ceremony" ended.

After that, there is another very important and indispensable step - reading the oath.

Just from the name, you can recognize the content of this section.

The groom took out the oath he had prepared in advance and read it in public.

Interestingly, Qing Deng’s oath was written by Boss Kiryu.

"I have attended many people's weddings before, so I have learned how to write wedding vows." - said Boss Kiryu.

As expected of Kiryu Boss! He even wrote wedding vows! —— Qing Deng sighed with emotion while entrusting this important task to Kiryu Boss.

I don’t know if it was to increase the sense of ceremony or what, but the oath made by Kiryu boss himself was written in the ancient Japanese language from thousands of years ago...

Qing Deng didn't recognize most of the words in it.

He practiced it many times before he was finally able to read the oath fluently.

Qing Deng took out the neatly folded oath from his bosom, spread it out, cleared his throat, and then said loudly and clearly:

"Choose this auspicious day to hold the wedding."

"From now on, you must love and respect each other, form a family, share joys and sorrows, and live forever."

"May we be happy forever, let us pledge this together."

"The third year of Wenjiu, December 30th."

"Husband: Yuanju Suyou Ni Qingdeng Shengqing."

After Qing Deng finished speaking, the three women followed up with a loud voice:
"Wife: Chiba Sanako."

"Wife: Kinoshita Mai."

"Wife: Okita Tsukasa."

*******
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There was a misunderstanding in the previous chapter. The parents of the three girls should be their "maternal family" instead of their "husband's family".

The virgin Leopard is so stupid! (crying leopard head.jpg) Leopard has corrected this mistake at the speed of light!
Today is another 7K update for Leopard! In consideration of Leopard's two consecutive days of updates, please be sure to vote for this book!