Chapter 135 - 86: Foster Father Is Father, Master Is Also Father!

Last night, it rained—a heavy downpour lashed the earth for half the night. When dawn was just breaking, the rain gradually eased up, turning into fine drizzles that drifted gently down. The clouds weren’t so thick anymore, but although the sun’s rays tried their best to break through, they only managed to cast a faint halo through the curtain of rain. The drizzle went about its business, undisturbed—like strands of silver thread slashing through the sky, weaving and twisting as they fell, and finally landing softly in the woods and fields, nurturing everything, giving the world a glossy, dewy sheen. All of nature seemed less vivid in color because of this. Through the mingling of mist and rain, things became hazy, as if the whole landscape had turned into an ink wash painting. The Meiyu Season is about to arrive... better stockpile more dry firewood... Nozawa gazed at the scenery, chewing the cud like a cow munching on peonies—not poetic at all, just practical as ever. Instead of waxing lyrical, he was preparing to go tell Maeshima Shichiro to stock up on extra fuel so the soy sauce workshop wouldn’t have its output affected. He’d deliberately gotten up this early today. After all, yesterday he’d agreed to Asano Nagasuke to be Ningning’s "teacher," so naturally he was taking it seriously, up bright and early to await his new student’s first day—even if the sudden rain had turned the roads muddy and Ningning probably wouldn’t be arriving too soon, he was up and ready anyway. He wasn’t in a hurry, though. He had nothing else to do today, so he simply enjoyed the rainy scenery, waiting patiently. Before long, Ah Man—having eaten her fill—came wandering over barefoot, watched him staring out the window like he was waiting for somebody, and finally couldn’t help but grumble, "Are you really this impatient?" She was honestly impressed. Like an old house that catches fire and burns quickly, he couldn’t even sit still waiting to get married—up early and just standing around here. Seemed like all her sensible words last night were wasted. Not that she couldn’t sympathize. Nozawa was already past twenty and still without a wife—the very definition of an experienced bachelor. That really was kind of pitiful. Nozawa just glanced at her and then looked away, too lazy to bother with this feral brat. Last night, Ah Man had babbled at him for more than half the night, earnest and persistent, offering loyal advice that, though well-meant, sounded like nonsense: She wanted him to keep his hands to himself, get to know Ningning’s background before making a move, and if he really couldn’t hold back, to at least use Yayoi as a stand-in for now. Absolutely no reckless action, or else he risked stirring up a battle royale between the Asano Family and the Nozawa family, not to mention destroying his own reputation beyond repair. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up with no wife at all—not worth the gamble. It’d taken Nozawa a long moment to realize what was going on. Out of curiosity, he’d tried "doing archaeology"—just wanted to see for himself what the childhood version of the "female Taiko" was like, leaving a little time-travel diary entry of sorts. Yet somehow, this innocent act had kicked off a string of misunderstandings that even dragged Oda Nobunaga into the mix. Otherwise, Asano Nagasuke would never have been so shameless as to actively send his daughter into the tiger’s den—since apparently Ningning had Oda Nobunaga behind her. Now, it seemed Nobunaga was trying to pair him and Ningning up, so he could later keep him under his thumb. At the very least, it would ensure their resident "medical superstar" had some ties to Owari and wouldn’t just pack up and leave on a whim like before. But, once Nozawa figured that out, he found he didn’t really care. After all, he walked a straight path and sat upright, had no nefarious designs on Ningning herself, and no historical-celebrity-collecting fetish to speak of. He just wanted to ruin the monkey’s "cultivation," that’s all. If he could achieve that, he could put up with a few little misunderstandings. Besides, if meddling here could actually change East Asian history, even if nobody else ever knew, he’d feel very satisfied inside. So, rumors or not, he didn’t mind—he’d just stick to his original plan. ...... After nine in the morning, the drizzling rain was still falling. A wagon drawn by oxen, its wheels caked in mud, rumbled slowly into Nozawa’s estate, accompanied by a few raincloaked men of the Lang Faction. Ningning hopped off the cart in her tall geta sandals, staring blankly at the "ancestral home" veiled by rain. Her little sister had been but a child when their family fell; Ningning, though, was old enough to remember everything. Back then, she’d often run barefoot between these wooden longhouses, a happy, carefree child. But all that vanished along with her father, like the fleeting end of a beautiful dream. Things only got worse during that year at the Binahara house—a true nightmare. Never enough to eat, never warm enough, never-ending sidelong looks and constant suspicion. Even in winter, when her little sister was sick, no one cared; no amount of pleading helped. In desperation she’d gone looking for her father’s old lord, intercepting his horse and risking death by trampling, answering carefully, and winning just the tiniest bit of pity—just enough to secure a new life for herself and her sister. In her earlier imaginings, she thought she’d have to wait till she grew up to reclaim her home, to revisit and revive those happy dreams. Never did she expect to come back so soon, or that she’d return here to study under someone else. Or rather, to foster some kind of bond with "that man," in hopes of one day becoming part of the Nozawa family. She wasn’t particularly resentful about it. What good would that do? She couldn’t decide her own fate anyway. She didn’t even know how to begin deciding her own fate. All she could do was drift with the current, and try to live each day as well as she could. She stood there silently in the rain for a moment, and when her nursemaid reached over with an oiled-paper umbrella to shield her from the drizzle, she scrubbed her face hard, forcing out a serene, demure smile. Then she picked up a small red-lacquered food box herself and started inside. Nozawa, having been notified, didn’t put on airs—he hurried to the door to greet her. As soon as Ningning saw him, she pressed her hands together in front of her and bowed, speaking gently, "Lord Nozawa, I’m so sorry for arriving late." Nozawa glanced down at her, smiled politely, and replied, "It’s nothing. It’s raining today—you could’ve just sent a message and come tomorrow if you’d wanted." "A promise is a promise. I wouldn’t dare to break my word." Ningning bowed again, acting especially docile. Nozawa nodded. Well, ancient times really were ancient times. Back when Asamatsu was just a kid she already acted like a little adult, and now Ningning was no different. Honestly, her emotional intelligence probably beats some modern middle schoolers. She might even beat those "clear-eyed" college students of the future—if you put them and Ningning up for sale on the black market, odds are it would be the college student who got sold! His mind spun off on that tangent as he led Ningning to the tearoom. Her nursemaid followed silently a few steps behind. Even if people in this Japan didn’t fuss too much about strict gender segregation, there was at least a little—no matter what, you couldn’t leave your daughter alone with an unrelated man for too long. Nozawa didn’t mind. He’d already prepared a small table for Ningning; paper, ink, brushes, inkstone, books, all ready, and even served up a teapot and teacups—he’d really put some thought into it. Ningning kneeled neatly by the table, immediately noticed his attention to detail, quickly set down her little food box, opened it, and presented a piece of translucent rice cake with both hands, face all sweet and polite: "Lord Nozawa, thank you for giving me this chance to study. I made this treat myself—it might not taste great, but I hope you’ll accept it." "Oh? It looks very nice, thank you!" Nozawa hadn’t expected her to be this considerate, even bringing a "thank-you gift for the teacher." He smiled and took it, then patted himself down—he had nothing suitable to give as a return present. Only a gold coin sewn into his belt for emergencies—not much use as a teacher’s gift. He thought for a bit, then ground ink and spread a sheet of paper, wrote her a scroll, and smiled, "I don’t have anything ready as a gift; take this instead, for your encouragement. And from now on, just call me ’Master!’" He was setting a trap for the monkey, and he knew he’d have to meddle in Ningning’s marriage in the future—best to play up the "Master" relationship now. Even if Asano Nagasuke never planned for his daughter to become anyone’s apprentice, Nozawa would forcibly insert himself into that role. It’d also anchor their seniority, and keep the rumors from snowballing out of control and making people pair him and Ningning together for real. Ningning blinked in confusion—this wasn’t what she’d imagined at all. She looked at the words, then looked at Nozawa. "Master?" she said, astonished. "Good disciple!" Nozawa answered right away, gazing at her kindly and nodding slightly, full of grandfatherly satisfaction—like he’d finally found someone to count on in old age and wouldn’t have to end up in a retirement home. Ningning was even more stunned. She looked over at her nursemaid, feeling this was quite different from what she’d been told—she was supposed to come study as an excuse to visit Nozawa house regularly, pay careful attention to her manners, gradually build a relationship with Lord Nozawa, and show off her ability to run a household, all in preparation to become lady of the Nozawa family one day. But now, in a twist, she was suddenly his disciple? How could she become mistress of the house like that? Even the nursemaid was stunned. Where did this "master-disciple" thing come from? She’d never heard of a girl being taken as a disciple before! Nozawa didn’t care what they thought—for him, "Master" was now non-negotiable! Foster father is also father. Master counts as father too. In another year or two, when Ningning was old enough to marry, he’d just elbow Asano Nagasuke aside and personally pick her a good match. He’d even throw in extra dowry if needed—Asano Nagasuke was supposedly a good-natured old guy, nowhere near as sneaky as him, and wouldn’t be able to out-maneuver him at all. Victory was practically guaranteed! As for Oda Nobunaga, he’d just come up with some excuse to bamboozle him when the time came. Most likely, Nobunaga would be too busy fighting wars by then to pay attention to Ningning, and by the time he noticed, it’d already be a done deal. He’d probably just let it go. His plans set, Nozawa now put them into action, slapping the "apprentice" label on Ningning before she had any chance to protest, pointing at the scroll and asking, "Do you recognize these characters?" Ningning’s brain was spinning. She looked down in confusion and read it aloud instinctively: "Dripping water wears through stone, a rope can saw through wood, effort is never wasted, and only with grinding is jade made pure." She did know how to read, just hadn’t learned much yet at her age. These simpler characters she could handle. Nozawa didn’t mind, and immediately asked again, "Do you know what it means?" Ningning hesitated, then nodded slowly: "I... I think I understand." She wasn’t too sure about the third line, but the rest made sense—probably something about the importance of persistence: if you keep at it, you’ll get results in the end. "As long as you understand!" Nozawa nodded, satisfied, and went back to his own table to sit properly, putting on a dignified teacher’s air. His tone was mild but serious. "Learning is never easy. I hope you’ll stick with it, and won’t look back one day hating the person you are today." "Uh..." Ningning was growing more bewildered, her pupils dilating a little, but she still automatically sat up straight and answered, "Yes, Lord Nozawa, I won’t..." "Call me ’Master!’" "Uh... yes, Ma—Master. I’ll work hard and won’t let down your hopes for me." "Very good. Now open your book...the first one on the left pile. Let’s begin!" "Yes, Master!" Still dazed, Ningning opened the book and started listening to him read and explain. Nozawa didn’t phone it in, either—he really meant to teach her, covering everything from poetry to arithmetic to economics, a little compensation for the fact she would never become the "female Taiko"—not that she ever really would have, considering the monkey’s talent for taking concubines, even making a foster daughter into a secondary wife, driving Ningning out of her own home to escape the awkwardness. If not for her years of hard work for the Toyotomi Family and deep support, she probably would’ve been cast aside to make room for Chacha. Her real life hadn’t been particularly happy; a little change of fate wouldn’t hurt at all. So, he taught in earnest, she learned in a haze, and before they knew it, it was noon. On the first day, of course, Nozawa made a point to personally treat his little apprentice to lunch, inviting the whole family—sort of like introducing their home’s newest member to everyone. Ningning’s nursemaid watched as Nozawa smiled kindly from several meters away, constantly urging Ningning to eat more, to get chubby, even promising her a room of her own so she could rest when studying tired her out—and finally, the nursemaid slapped her thigh in sudden realization! My heavens, it’s over! That Nozawa boy doesn’t want to be your son-in-law—he wants to steal your daughter! Our girl is going to be lost. Give it another couple years, and Miss Ningning will have become Nozawa’s adopted daughter! This man is truly sinister! This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om