I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 232 Father and Son, Duchess

"The Prime Minister will be here soon!"

Outside, an attendant immediately ran over and said.

Ah Jin immediately looked in the mirror and tidied himself up, and then asked the wet nurse to hold her daughter Ah Xue and walk out together.

Jubei followed Akin to the gate to greet him.

After a while, the carriage arrived at the door of the mansion, and Liu Sheng saw a family standing at the door. Except for Ajin, the two children could be said to be both familiar and strange to him.

When his eldest daughter Ashue was born, he was already on the way to Hokkaido. When his daughter was born, he didn't even look at her, but he had already given her a nickname, Ashue.

Later, when Ayuki was half a year old, Akin took a photo with Jubei and the three of them, and then the photo was sent to Yagyu by someone.

Only then did he see his three-year-old son and half-year-old daughter.

Although he is a man of great power and influence in this country, he can neither be humble nor arrogant even when facing Britain and France.

But before he got off the carriage, the moment he saw his children, he felt a little guilty.

Although several years of intense political career have changed some of his temperaments, the memory deep in his heart has not been erased.

He once had eyes like Jubei's, looking forward to his parents coming back from afar and not seeing him for a long time, but there was a kind of anger and a kind of longing in his heart. The complicated emotions made him a little taciturn when he saw his parents coming back, but after them I was reluctant to leave when I left.

In the past, he thought that he would not be that kind of parent, but things changed and he became like his parents.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we are here."

Ichimura Tetsunosuke's reminder woke up Yagyu, who quickly got up and got out of the carriage.

Akin immediately brought Jubei and Ayue forward and said softly: "Husband, thank you for your hard work. Jubei, please say hello."

Jubei stepped forward timidly, bent down and saluted: "My child, Jubei, pay homage to your father."

Yagyu was stunned for a moment. He didn't know how to reply to the child. He looked very reserved.

Yagyu was silent for a moment, covered Jubei's little head with one hand, and said with a smile: "Jubei, you are bigger than you look in the photo, hahaha."

Ajin said quickly: "Jubei is your child, so he will naturally grow up strong."

Yagyu said indifferently: "What happened to my child? Jubei, do you feel that being the son of the prime minister is stressful?"

Jubei didn't know how to answer this question. He wanted to say no, but the reality was that countless pairs of eyes were staring at him, just because he was the eldest son of Yagyu Nobita.

He will inherit Yagyu Hiyan's career and become the leader of this country in the future.

It can be said that since he was sensible, he knew that he would live in the shadow of his father, and this shadow was too big, and he was afraid that he would not be able to escape for the rest of his life.

Yagyu frowned slightly, then relaxed his brows and said casually: "What's wrong, don't you even have the courage to answer the question? Follow your heart, Jubei."

Jubei didn't know what was going on. Yagyu's words made him full of confidence. He raised his head and said, "Yes, father, the child feels a lot of pressure."

"It's okay to be stressed."

Yagyu walked forward directly and took Ashue from the wet nurse.

"Nothing can be made without polishing it, Jubei, don't think about being me, just be good to yourself."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey..."

Yagyu's movements were a bit loud, and the drowsy Ashue woke up. When she saw that it was not her mother and wet nurse, she immediately burst into tears.

"This kid is still a bit naive."

He had no choice but to hand the child to the wet nurse, and the family walked in.

At the dinner table, Ah Jin asked: "Husband, how long will you stay in Kyoto this time?"

"We need to stay longer this time. It won't be too late to wait for new developments in Hokkaido."

Yagyu enjoyed his meal and said casually.

Akin was a little happy, and she continued: "Husband, Jubei is about to be four years old. I asked Soujiro to teach him kendo before, what do you think?"

Yagyu glanced at Jubei, who was sitting upright. This kid was already being raised as a samurai by Akin, and he said: "When he is four years old, send him to an elementary school. After school, Souji and I can teach him he."

Ah Jin was a little worried and said, "Is it dangerous to study outside? Why not hire a tutor? I heard from other ladies that their children have hired several tutors."

"No need."

Yagyu refused directly.

"Jubei can't be a child raised in a boudoir compound. If you want to become a man, you have to have some experience."

Although he didn't want to put pressure on Jubei, but being born in such a family, many things were inevitable for him.

"Jubei, are you afraid?"

Jubei looked into Yagyu's eyes, and his sharp gaze made him lower his head instantly.

"Since you are afraid, then please..."

Yagyu seemed to give up and decided directly.

"Husband..."

Akin thought that Yagyu was disappointed with Jubei, so he nervously shouted in a low voice.

Jubei grasped the hem of his clothes tightly with both hands, feeling a little tormented in his heart. He was the son of a hero and could not be a coward.

He gritted his teeth and said, "I can do it, Father."

Liu Sheng still shook his head and said: "Forget it, you don't even have the courage to look into my eyes, so there's no need to force it."

Jubei looked up in astonishment and was speechless. He only felt a sense of suffocation and shame!

"Husband, Jubei is still young..." Ajin looked anxious and his voice became smaller and smaller.

Ashue, who was in the last seat, still didn’t know what was going on, and looked at it with wide eyes, looking very cute.

Yagyu looked at Jubei's appearance and said seriously: "Jubei, do you think that you are my son and you have the future of this country on your shoulders?"

Jubei said nothing, but his expression acquiesced to this sentence.

Yagyu was not angry and said something that was overestimating his capabilities. He said seriously: "If you want to shoulder the future of this country, you must have the matching ability, insight and courage.

You have nothing now, and you are not qualified to shoulder such a responsibility.

Child, if you want to be where I am, then you must be mentally prepared and study hard.

And you have to remember, even if you can't surpass me, you still have to be yourself. Living in my shadow, you will only fail.

Remember what I said today, I will only teach you this once. "

"Ha! Remember, kid!"

Jubei firmly remembers what his father taught him, even though he doesn't understand it, maybe time can teach him.

And Yagyu doesn't know how to teach his children, so he can only choose to let them go. Instead of messing around on his own, he might as well teach others. As long as he grasps the general direction, he can let the children experience the specific details.

Taking care of things too much will only put more pressure on the child.

Liu Sheng put away his serious expression, looked at A Jin and said, "A Jin, go get me another bowl of rice." Seeing that Liu Sheng had a good appetite, A Jin knew that he was in a good mood and was not that worried about his son. She He quickly got up and helped Liu Sheng to eat.

The first conversation with his son ended without incident. Only in the dead of night did he show a worried look.

Ah Jin wrapped his coat around his body, lay on Yagyu Sheng's back, and asked, "Husband, what's wrong with you?"

Yagyu couldn't help but said: "I'm thinking about Jubei."

When she mentioned this, Ajin became a little uneasy, and she said nervously: "Husband, Jubei is actually..."

Liu Sheng interrupted directly: "Okay, I don't dislike him, he is my son.

It’s just that the time I spent with him was short, and I was worried about whether I could be a good father.

It can be seen from today's events that I care too little about Jubei, Ashue and you. "

Ah Jin was very moved and said quickly: "Now the state affairs are all your responsibility. As long as your husband has us in his heart, it is enough."

Yagyu held one of Akin's little hands and said: "Although Jubei is young, he has received a lot of attention because of my presence, and he has to bear pressure that is different from ordinary people at a young age.

You don't have to keep telling him about me in the future, making him feel more stressed. We have to give him time and wait for him to grow up.

Don't worry, I will let the strongest action team of the Secret Police Department secretly protect Jubei. No one can harm my children. They can disappear from this land as long as they have a thought. "

Ah Jin continued to lean on Yagyu Sheng's back and said softly: "I believe what my husband said."

……

After less than a day of being gentle at home, Liu Sheng was troubled.

The head of the Ichijo family, one of the Five Photographic Houses, died of illness last night. Now there is no man in the Ichijo family. The position of the head of the family is vacant, and the position of Duke is vacant.

The Wushe family comes from the same family. Once one of them dies, he will adopt an adopted son from another family to inherit the position of the head of the family. The other Wushe family has long been eyeing this position, just waiting for Ichijo Tadaka to die.

But they didn't know that Ichijo Tadaka had already made a deal with Yagyu.

When Yagyu learned about Ichijo Tadaka's death, he immediately said: "This matter must be decided by the House of Nobles. Please immediately invite Miss Katsuko Ichijo back."

The House of Nobles held a meeting regarding the issue of the vacant title after Ichijo Tadaka's death, and Meiji and Yagyu attended the meeting.

Nijo Qi Jing was the first to say: "The five shogunate families come from the same origin. According to the convention, if one of the family dies, the adopted son of the other family can inherit the position of the head of the family."

Duke Konoe said: "Currently, there are no suitable men in the other Gosho families. However, Lord Sera, the son of Ichijou, adopted the third son of the Daigo family as his adopted son before his death, so he can inherit the title of Duke."

The other three families saw that they already had adopted children, so they decided like this.

However, Yagyu stood up and said: "Duke Ichijo also has his own biological daughter, why should an adopted son inherit the position of Duke?

According to the inheritance law promulgated by our country, women also have the right to inherit. "

Yagyu's words shocked all the nobles sitting there.

In recent years, they have been moving closer to the Western aristocrats, asking tutors to teach the men in the family to learn politics, military economy, etc., and the women to learn etiquette, female workers, etc.

It can be seen from this intention that these nobles want to train men to become heirs and then send their daughters out for marriage.

When Yagyu did this, their plan was disrupted.

Even Nijo Saikei was caught off guard.

Duke Konoe immediately retorted: "That's just for ordinary people. We are nobles, a family of ministers that has been passed down for thousands of years!"

Yagyu said categorically: "There is no privilege before the law."

Duke Konoe coughed angrily.

Duke Kujo asked: "Your Majesty Prime Minister, how can a woman hold up the position of Duke? Please think twice!"

"Then let's ask Miss Akiko."

Yagyu raised his hand, and the door of the House of Nobles opened. Akiko Yiyi, wearing a Western-style dress, walked gracefully into the middle of the meeting. She first saluted Meiji and said, "Akiko pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor."

Meiji nodded slightly and responded: "Yes, no courtesy."

Akiko Ichijo then greeted the others.

Duke Konoe couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Prime Minister, this is really ridiculous!"

Yagyu did not speak, and Akiko Ichijo retorted: "Mr. Konoe, there has been a female emperor in our country's history. Now, our country has entered a more advanced democratic era, and everyone is equal. Why can't I inherit my father's title?"

Duke Konoe didn't know how to refute with one sentence from Akiko Ichijo, and it was hard for others to say anything. Violating the constitution would lead to death!

Yagyu smiled and asked: "Now, who is in favor and who is against?"

When Erjo Qi Jing saw the situation, he lowered his head first and said: "I agree."

"I also agree..."

Others followed suit and voted in agreement.

Duke Konoe couldn't bear this tone and could only grit his teeth and said: "I... abstain!"

Prince Chaohiko hit the hammer and said: "After voting, Miss Akiko Ichijo will inherit the title of Duke Takara Ichijo."

Yagyu applauded: "Everyone, Miss Akiko inherited the title and became our country's first duchess. This is the victory of the law and a symbol of our country's more civilization. We have freed ourselves from the shackles of the old era!"

Okubo Toshimichi and others clapped their hands and praised him one after another.

Only Duke Konoe and other conservatives looked stiff.

Yagyu didn't care about the faces of these people, he immediately asked the Kyoto Daily to publicize the matter.

"Excuse me! The first female duchess appears in our country!"

"Shocked, there will be a female member of the House of Lords!"

"It's ridiculous. Can women also participate in politics?"

The shocking topic attracted the attention of citizens.

The citizen who was eating at the breakfast stall waved: "Newsboy, bring me a newspaper."

The citizens took a look at the newspaper and saw that a young lady from the Ichijo family had inherited the title of Duke. The photo clearly showed the scene of Emperor Meiji conferring a knighthood on Akiko Ichijo.

"Wow, look, it's really the Duchess!"

"What, then there are going to be female members of the House of Lords? Isn't that weird?"

"There are female MPs in the House of Lords, but do we need female MPs in the House of Commons? Women should stay at home."

Everyone immediately started a heated discussion. They didn't know what the government did to allow a woman to enter the House of Lords.

The Constitutional Party in Osaka and the Improvement Constitutional Party in Edo exploded. They immediately wrote articles and began to criticize the Duchess.

Akiko Ichijo was suddenly at the forefront of the storm.

"Duke Ichijo, this is a test for you. You are the pioneer on this road." Yagyu said meaningfully.

Akiko Ichijo said with high spirits: "I'm not afraid!"

(End of this chapter)