Chapter 106: Probably Endo Chiyo
“My apologies!”
Yuan Ye returned to the guest area. As soon as he entered the hut, he apologized to his guests. After all, he had left A Man’s savior here for a long time, which was indeed impolite. Chiyo, startled, quickly swallowed the food in her mouth, a hint of shyness flashing uncontrollably across her small face.
She hadn’t eaten a proper meal in over two months. Yuan Ye had also specifically instructed Yayoi to treat her well, so Yayoi naturally didn’t dare to neglect her. The meal served was exquisite and delicious. She couldn’t help but eat with complete focus, not even noticing Yuan Ye’s return, showing no regard for decorum.
But she quickly regained her composure, calmed her heart, gently tidied her bowl and chopsticks, and then put on a proper smile: “Lord Yuan Ye, you are too kind. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Not at all!” Yuan Ye replied politely, but couldn’t help but look at her a couple more times, suspecting she might be the female protagonist from the historical drama *Kōmyō no Tōji* (Crossroads of Fame), the distant cousin and future wife of Monkey’s important retainer Yamauchi Kazutoyo, Endo Chiyo.
If she were indeed Endo Chiyo, then she was quite a legendary figure, with many anecdotes left behind in Japanese folklore.
For instance, she quietly saved money, purchased a famous horse, and helped her husband gain great prestige at the grand military review in Kyoto. Furthermore, at the critical moment before the Battle of Sekigahara, she single-handedly persuaded the entire Yamauchi clan to side with the Tokugawa family, and wrote a letter titled *Kasa no O no Mon* (The String of the Hat) to the old turtle Tokugawa Ieyasu, completely earning Tokugawa Ieyasu’s trust and laying a solid foundation for the Yamauchi family to be granted the domain of Tosa with an income of 200,000 koku.
There were many similar stories. Especially in the Shikoku region of Japan, there were many small tales of her cleverly managing territories and developing the Tosa domain into a prosperous one. She was mostly portrayed as a wise, capable, enlightened, and decisive helper, a wise helper. Even though she wasn’t as famous as “Warring States Ladies” like Nene and A Song, she was still considered a successful ancient woman, quite extraordinary.
Of course, folk legends are unreliable, and Japanese historical dramas are a major source of fabricated stories. No one can be sure what kind of person she actually was. Yuan Ye’s extra glances were merely out of curiosity upon seeing a “famous person,” not an intention to investigate her origins, as it had nothing to do with him.
He hadn’t even considered verifying if this “Chiyo” was indeed “Endo Chiyo.” Following the principle of politeness, after exchanging pleasantries, he had Yayoi bring a small cowhide pouch and place it directly on her low table. Endo Chiyo, slightly surprised, untied the pouch string and looked inside. She saw a flash of silver, a bag full of silver tacks—a type of privately minted silver coin popular along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea during Japan’s Warring States period. They were finger-shaped, each weighing one ryo, and could be exchanged for one kan of Eiraku coins.
Endo Chiyo’s eyes immediately lit up. She immediately, with some effort but subtly, tested the weight of the bag, judging that there were fifty-seven silver tacks inside, enough to exchange for fifty *kan* of Eiraku coins. A smile involuntarily appeared on her face, and her curved eyes sparkled with starlight. But she quickly regained her composure and willingly bowed her head to thank Yuan Ye: “Thank you very much, Lord Yuan Ye!”
With these fifty kan, she was confident she could survive. At least she wouldn’t have to run around with Kotaro, eating only three meals every two days for the past two months, with nowhere to even rest.
Yuan Ye shook his head and took out a document from his bosom, handing it to her with a smile. “I should be the one feeling ashamed. It was supposed to be one thousand kan, but I’m a bit short on funds at the moment… As you can see, I’m clearing land, and there are many expenses. So, I can only give you this much for now to tide you over. Please give me one year for the remainder, and I will pay it off as promised within a year at the latest.”
Endo Chiyo hesitantly took the document and opened it. She found a formal pledge with a signed seal, stipulating that after one year, if she presented this pledge, she would receive one thousand kan of Eiraku coins. Alternatively, she could choose to come once a month and receive fifty kan of Eiraku coins each time until she had received the full one thousand kan.
After reading the pledge, she was stunned for a moment, feeling that Yuan Ye didn’t need to do this. She had already considered fifty kan an unexpected windfall and hadn’t expected more.
She believed Yuan Ye could see this, and couldn’t figure out his reasons for doing so, so she couldn’t help but ask: “Why are you… doing this?”
“This is what you deserve, and what A Man promised you!” Yuan Ye’s answer was simple. He didn’t care if she thought he was a fool, nor was he trying to build a persona of “a promise is worth a thousand gold.”
To be honest, after A Man died for him, he deeply regretted not being able to do better. At that time, if someone had told him that by using three to four tons of scrap copper of unspecified purity, he could bring A Man back alive, he wouldn’t have hesitated for half a second and would have found a way to gather the copper immediately.
Now that someone had truly brought A Man back, he was willing to pay this money.
After all, A Man died in his place, so this money should have been his to pay. He considered this one thousand kan as the price for his own life!
Furthermore, fulfilling the promise was also for A Man’s sake.
Although A Man was unreliable and reluctant to spend money, always thinking of getting things for free and fearing being taken advantage of, she was fundamentally a trustworthy and grateful person with a sense of righteousness. She wouldn’t truly kill her savior. After some internal struggle, she would likely do her best to give her more money and fulfill the promise as much as possible.
If she truly couldn’t afford it, she would probably make all sorts of random promises as compensation, such as if this Miss Chiyo were to be killed someday, she would go and save her if she sent word, returning her life.
If she went, A Qing would definitely follow, turning it into a buy-one-get-one-free situation, making things worse.
To avoid these uncontrollable events and to sever the karmic ties directly, he felt it was better to fulfill the promise on behalf of A Man. This way, at least A Man would feel happy and could be proud in front of Miss Chiyo, not becoming a despicable person who breaks promises, only to resort to shameless excuses. A Man and A Qing cared more about their reputation; they would admit defeat even if it cost them their heads, even if it was a compromise, they still admitted it.
Since A Man was willing to risk her life for him, he should naturally help A Man clean up her mess and protect her reputation.
After all, one thousand kan was not an astronomical sum for him. For a transmigator, problems that could be solved with money were never problems. It was just that he had just moved in and was establishing a forward base, so there were too many expenses, making him a bit short. In a few more months, he could easily pay one thousand kan in one lump sum without any issues.
Therefore, it was completely inconsequential. Moreover, the situation that night was urgent. A Man was desperate. To trick the remaining people into distracting the pursuers, she blurted out all sorts of nonsense, making all sorts of promises, daring to say anything, and leaving him with a mountain of debt. He still owed his followers a large sum of death benefits, bounties, and each person a house, a plot of good land, and a wife.
If all of that were truly calculated, it would cost even more, and he would have to pay for it all. However, like Endo Chiyo, he would have to wait until he produced saltpeter. At that time, one *shi* of saltpeter per person would settle all accounts!
Yes, once he refined another ten to twenty *shi* of saltpeter, he would be able to handle it, which would not hinder his plans for development and growth, nor would it affect his improvement in strength.
However, these things didn’t need to be explained to Endo Chiyo. This was between him and A Man, and it was difficult to explain clearly to outsiders.
He said it very calmly and simply, but Endo Chiyo was stunned. She hadn’t expected Yuan Ye to be truly willing to spend one thousand kan for A Man. Even though A Man, who couldn’t move due to her severe injuries, had been babbling incessantly on the way, constantly assuring Yuan Ye would pay, she had never dared to believe it. Her highest expectation was fifty kan, and that was even with A Man constantly saying Yuan Ye was very generous.
As it turned out, Yuan Ye actually paid, and even if it was in installments, he paid.
However, she truly couldn’t understand why Yuan Ye would do this, nor could she understand why A Man, who was severely injured and immobile yet still insisted on giving orders and babbling endlessly, as if she would die if she didn’t speak, was so valuable. But she couldn’t ask for details and could only guess in her heart. Perhaps there was romantic affection between the two. However, to develop feelings for someone like A Man, who had a terrible personality and strange eyebrows, and was definitely not a beauty, her taste was too peculiar.
With suspicion in her heart, she looked at Yuan Ye again, confirming he wasn’t joking. However, she still didn’t dare to put away the pledge. This was a huge sum of money for her. Even though she knew Yuan Ye had no ulterior motives and there was no need for such trouble to deal with someone in distress like her, she still hesitated to put it away.
Yuan Ye didn’t mind. As long as he had given it, and A Man hadn’t broken her word, that was enough. If she later used this paper to wipe her backside, it was her freedom and had nothing to do with him. He continued to play the host and asked with concern: “Miss Chiyo, what brings you to Owari this time? If there’s anything I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Endo Chiyo came back to her senses. This time, she didn’t hesitate much and immediately sighed: “I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me, Lord, but I’ve come to Owari… to seek relatives.”
“Oh, may I ask who…”
Endo Chiyo indeed needed help now, and Yuan Ye was willing to acknowledge even A Man’s nonsensical promises, proving his character was first-class. She didn’t believe such a righteous gentleman would harm her, so she immediately revealed everything: “It’s my aunt. Her family name was originally Ohara, but I don’t know where she is now. Have you heard of her? She married into Owari about seventeen or eighteen years ago.”
“Is that all you know?”
“That’s all I know,” Endo Chiyo sighed again, feeling very troubled.
She used to know that this aunt had a very good relationship with her mother and would occasionally send letters from Owari through merchants. But she was young then and didn’t pay attention to which family her aunt had married into. Then, two months ago, the Rokkaku family suddenly attacked, her father was killed, and her village was burned. Her mother, who was already in poor health, couldn’t withstand the blow and died of a cough and illness on the night of their escape, leaving no last words.
With no other options, she remembered this last remaining relative. She dared not stay in the war-torn area and could only bring the family’s only follower to seek refuge. However, upon arriving in Owari, Owari was also at war. She hid and inquired for a long time but couldn’t find her aunt’s whereabouts. In the end, while searching, she was about to starve to death herself.
Yuan Ye nodded gently. He felt she might indeed be the legendary “Chiyo,” and perhaps even Yamauchi Kazutoyo’s cousin. However, he didn’t know where Yamauchi Kazutoyo was now and needed to search carefully.
He felt he could help with this matter, and it wouldn’t be too difficult, so he comforted her: “It’s alright. Knowing this is enough. I’ll ask someone to inquire for you later, and perhaps there will be news.”
Yes, after paying the money, the karmic ties would be severed. Then, helping her find her cousin and sending her there would completely resolve this matter.
This could be considered a good deed receiving a good reward, not letting her save A Man in vain.
