Chapter 30: Could it be that donkeys are attracted to each other?
A messenger from the Aragiko Maeda Family came to visit. Besides freeing Yuan Ye from “prison,” he only exchanged a few pleasantries before leaving. He left Yuan Ye with a letter, a set of rather exquisite lacquerware tableware, a fine ceramic tea bowl in a wooden box, and a piece of finely woven linen cloth.
“Who wrote the letter? What did it say?” A Man, naturally curious, couldn’t help but poke her head in after the messenger left. While casually asking for news, she carefully observed A Qing, checking if Yuan Ye had misbehaved in her absence.
She felt a bit regretful after essentially giving her sister away. She started to become suspicious again, fearing Yuan Ye might be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, suddenly revealing his true nature, chuckling lewdly, drooling as he embraced A Qing, and began to do as he pleased. Bound by the bet, A Qing could only close her eyes, tilt her head, and endure his abuse with shame and humiliation.
Although it was unlikely, Yuan Ye usually seemed quite decent. However, it’s easy to draw a dragon or a tiger, but hard to draw their bones; you can know a person’s face but not their heart. Samurai are all perverts, and it wouldn’t be strange for them to do anything disgusting.
“It’s a letter from someone named Okumura Sukemon Iefuku. He’s thanking us for saving A Song and sent some gifts.” Yuan Ye didn’t notice A Man’s scrutinizing gaze. After reading the letter, he tapped his finger lightly on the table and mused, “He also hopes I can visit Aragiko Castle and, by the way, help his Lord, Maeda Toshiharu, with his illness. I can go anytime; he’ll be waiting.”
This was a bit unexpected. He thought it would be a letter from Maeda Toshiie or the lord of Aragiko Castle, Maeda Toshiharu, but instead, an unfamiliar Okumura Iefuku appeared.
“Okumura Sukemon, I know him. He’s a Senior Retainer of the Aragiko Maeda Family. The Okumura family has served the Maeda family for generations and is quite influential,” A Man provided some basic information first. Then, she flipped through the gifts, estimated their value, and complained, “They’ll only sell for a little over one kan. The lacquerware is from Aragiko Kannon Temple, the tea bowl is a common piece of Seto ware with a few minor flaws, and the cloth is probably woven by themselves. The total cost is at most seven or eight hundred mon! These samurai are still so stingy, giving so little for treating an illness. Are you going?”
These items, presented as gifts for saving A Song, were more like payment for a house call. In this era, old-fashioned Japanese samurai adhered to Confucian etiquette, often speaking indirectly and feeling ashamed to discuss money directly, similar to some old pedantic scholars in China. She knew this well.
“I’ll go tomorrow. I don’t have anything else to do right now, and I have free time.” Yuan Ye quickly made his decision. After all, he was currently staying on their territory, and they were speaking politely. Besides, he wasn’t being asked to work for free, and he couldn’t be ungrateful and cause trouble for no reason.
Even a strong dragon doesn’t oppress local snakes, let alone him, who was merely a foreigner who had fallen on hard times. He should be cautious.
A Man thought it was fine. The payment was a bit low, but it was better than treating poor villagers. She immediately said, “Then you go. I’ll watch the house for you.”
She had no intention of going with him. She was unrestrained with Yuan Ye because he was a good-natured person who tolerated her. But if she went to Aragiko Castle, let alone feast and drink, she’d most likely not even get to a table, having to kneel behind Yuan Ye and stare blankly. Afterward, she’d at best get a bowl of incredibly unappetizing bean and wild vegetable rice. With her sly and lazy nature, she couldn’t endure such hardship.
Yuan Ye nodded, indifferent to this. Moreover, if Maeda Toshiharu’s illness was tricky and required a lot of time, and he couldn’t return for a day or two, he would feel more at ease with A Man guarding his foolish son. If something unexpected happened, with her wit, she could at least drag the foolish son away to escape. As long as the person was alive, everything else could be managed.
He trusted A Man and A Qing quite a bit now. They even honored their word after losing a bet involving their heads, proving their character was excellent and trustworthy!
With the matter settled, he called the Momoi Brothers in and instructed them to feed the second-hand donkey more beans, clean the second-hand cart, and prepare some provisions. They were to depart early the next morning and not be late.
…
The night passed without incident, and soon it was the next morning.
Yuan Ye finished his daily tasks ahead of time. After a simple breakfast, he tidied his clothes, armor, and bow and arrow case, preparing to depart. However, as he stepped out, he saw A Qing attaching a bean bag to the second-hand donkey, whispering something to it, and gently grooming it. Her expression was patient and tender, and the second-hand donkey nuzzled her affectionately, showing no stubbornness, as if they were very familiar with each other.
Yuan Ye was momentarily surprised. That was his second-hand donkey; why was it so affectionate towards A Qing, an outsider?
Perhaps it was a case of “like attracts like”? Because A Qing herself was a bit like a donkey, the donkey particularly liked her?
However, that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that A Qing’s bronze-hooped staff was leaning against the donkey cart, and her little monkey was squatting on the donkey’s back, picking through its fur for lice. It seemed she was also going along.
He turned to A Man, who had come to see him off, and asked curiously, “She’s going too?”
“Didn’t you say she was to be the guard?” A Man yawned, her Dou Dou eyebrows drooping, her eyes hazy with indifference.
She didn’t want to endure hardship herself, but she didn’t object to A Qing wanting to. It wouldn’t kill her, and it didn’t matter much. Besides, the times were chaotic. Theoretically, the journey from Hibitsu Village to Aragiko Castle should be safe, but in reality, it was uncertain. With A Qing accompanying them, she could also feel a bit more at ease. If Yuan Ye were ambushed and killed, she would lose her place to freeload, which would be a significant loss.
Yuan Ye didn’t get along with A Qing and felt it was a bit unnecessary, but safety came first. After thinking about it, he couldn’t just act on his own whims, so he didn’t say anything further, implicitly agreeing.
Thus, Momorokuro led the donkey, Ichishiro carried the bamboo spear, Yuan Ye sat in the donkey cart, and A Qing guarded with her staff. The group set off, as if preparing for a journey to the West.
It was indeed much like a journey to the West; the road was incredibly difficult. The Aragiko Maeda Family, what were they even doing? They didn’t even bother to repair the roads in their territory properly. The dirt paths were sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, and full of potholes, making it even harder to travel than the road to Nagoya Castle. The jolting made Yuan Ye’s backside ache.
In ancient times, traveling was a hardship. No wonder ancient people disliked leaving home, unlike modern people who act like lunatics wanting to travel all the time, complaining online even when they don’t have vacation days.
The journey was bumpy, and Yuan Ye couldn’t sit still in the donkey cart, being tossed around. He was so frustrated that he lost the mood to appreciate the natural scenery. Just as he was grumbling, the little monkey on A Qing’s shoulder suddenly stood up, let out a sharp screech towards a small hill not far away, its eyes wide, revealing sharp canine teeth.
Yuan Ye shivered and immediately became alert. He reached for his bow, nocked an arrow, and looked towards the small hill. The hill was covered with mixed woods, with only a hint of green in early spring; most of it was still gray.
He scanned the area sharply for a couple of circles but found nothing particularly noteworthy. He tilted his head and asked A Qing, “What’s wrong?”
“There are people there.” A Qing also became vigilant. The bronze-hooped staff in her hand had transformed into a silent naginata. Her gaze was cold as she looked at the woods. She waved her hand, and the little monkey immediately jumped off her shoulder, darted out, and quickly climbed to the top of a tree to observe. However, it didn’t screech this time. After staying at the treetop for a while, it ran back and climbed onto her shoulder, gesturing.
“It’s two men with bows. They’ve already gone far away,” A Qing tilted her head and explained softly to Yuan Ye. Then, she twisted the head of the naginata and screwed it back into the bronze-hooped staff, tightening it. It seemed she believed the danger had passed and there would be no engagement.
Yuan Ye looked at the little monkey, surprised it had such a useful function. His gaze immediately became full of admiration. He quickly took out a rice ball and offered it to the monkey, planning to improve its diet when they returned. He glanced at the woods again and asked A Qing, “Were they thieves?”
A Qing didn’t reply. She hadn’t caught the two people, so how could she know if they were thieves? But she remembered that her relationship with Yuan Ye was different now. After a moment of hesitation, she lowered her eyelids and said in a cool voice, a rather obvious statement, “Possibly, and possibly not.”
Yuan Ye also realized that they might not have been thieves. Perhaps they were villagers who worked as hunters part-time, wanting to catch some wild game on the mountain to sell for money. Seeing him, a fake samurai, from afar, they hid to avoid being used as targets for archery practice.
Of course, it couldn’t be said there was no danger. Even if they were hunters, they might not mind robbing them, observing from a distance to see if they were easy targets and considering a sneak attack to steal something. But upon realizing they had been discovered, the possibility of a sneak attack vanished, so they fled quickly.
In turbulent times, with chaotic public order and no laws, all sorts of people exist, and anything can happen.
In this era, it’s hard to distinguish between good and bad people, and one can’t even walk peacefully!
The danger had passed. Although they didn’t know if it was truly dangerous, it had passed nonetheless. They resumed their journey towards Aragiko Castle.
Stimulated, Yuan Ye became energetic again. However, the remaining half of the journey passed without incident. Everything was normal, and they smoothly entered the territory of Aragiko Castle.
Taking advantage of climbing a dirt mound, Yuan Ye gazed from afar at this city that had disappeared in the modern era.
Aragiko Castle had a moat, its depth unknown, but it wasn’t wide, only about two rooms across.
From a distance, the castle walls appeared to be primarily constructed from rough logs, giving them a primitive and rugged feel. However, only the three corners of the walls had low arrow tower watchtowers, with the remaining one half-built. The guardhouse above the gate seemed to be just a frame, very rudimentary.
In this early spring season, as the weather warmed and moisture rose, the castle walls seemed to have grown green moss in patches, giving them a mottled appearance of wood brown with green spots, making them look incredibly ugly.
The area was approximately thirty-five ken east to west and twenty-five ken north to south, forming a rectangle of about 3,500 square meters, only half the size of a football field. This included the moat; the actual usable area would be smaller. Aragiko Castle, despite its name, looked more like a wooden fortress.
Looking at it this way, Aragiko Castle was vastly different from Nagoya Castle. Perhaps Nagoya Castle was built by a powerful Daimyo and was his beloved youngest son’s residence, built without regard for cost. Aragiko Castle, however, was built by a local lord with limited strength. The difference in scale alone was immense. Moreover, the overall appearance of Aragiko Castle was dilapidated, like an unfinished wooden project, like a beggar among castles, lacking any dignity.
Of course, it might indeed be unfinished, and perhaps it would remain this way.
According to the “Owari Patrol Record,” Maeda Castle was abandoned around 1532 AD due to an incident (possibly an earthquake causing the Odaigawa River to change course, the specific reason is unknown). The Maeda Family also split into branches, and Maeda Toshiharu’s line moved to Aragiko to build a castle less than ten years ago. Furthermore, Oda Nobuhide had been constantly waging wars against his neighbors, and the Maeda Family had been forced to respond, repeatedly conscripted for military service, unable to accumulate effectively, and their strength was severely damaged. It was normal for construction to be slow and dilapidated, even if it was considered complete.
Looking at it this way, Oda Nobuhide’s constant skirmishes with his neighbors seemed to be a way to weaken the powerful lords of Owari. It’s just unknown if these local lords would realize it…
They probably would. A Man had mentioned before that the local lords in the eight counties of Owari were all hoping for Oda Nobuhide’s early death, and there were significant internal conflicts within the Oda Danjō no Chū family.
Yuan Ye gazed at Aragiko Castle for a moment, then shifted his gaze to the surroundings.
A small castle like Aragiko Castle naturally had no market town; outside the castle was Aragiko Village. Judging by the number of houses, its scale was three to four times larger than Hibitsu Village. The fields, like those in Hibitsu Village, lacked a systematic irrigation system. The paddy fields could only be arranged along the banks of the Odaigawa River for easy access to water. The dry fields were similar; they were neat at first but became increasingly disordered as they extended towards the hills.
Unlike Hibitsu Village, to the northwest of Aragiko Village, on a low hill, there was a “grand mansion.” It was built on high ground, with a large wooden and stone carved gate. The walls were also thick, resembling a small fortress. Inside, a Multi-Treasure Pagoda stood tall, its eaves curved upwards, its spire reaching for the sky, quite exquisite and magnificent. Overall, except for the lack of a moat and arrow tower watchtowers, it looked more dignified than Aragiko Castle.
This must be Aragiko Kannon Temple. This time, Yuan Ye didn’t need to ask anyone else to know, because he remembered this pagoda. This pagoda survived into later generations. The architect seemed to be the same person who designed Azuchi Castle, though he had forgotten the name. He had seen this pagoda in many promotional pictures and on television, and it looked roughly the same.
Of course, Aragiko Kannon Temple also survived into later generations, located in the western suburbs of Nagoya City. However, it seemed to have been rebuilt and had become a subsidiary temple of Tenman Shrine. The outer gate and high walls were gone, and it no longer resembled a small fortress. But it still preserved over 1,200 Enku Buddha statues, making it a lesser-known tourist spot in Nagoya.
Yuan Ye stood on the dirt mound, observing and contemplating. After he had seen enough, he turned and descended the mound.
Finally, they had arrived. Let’s go. It’s time to meet the local lord here, the Castle Lord of Aragiko, Maeda Toshiharu. I wonder what kind of person he is!
