Chapter 223 - 156: Hope, at least he’s not a completely rotten person!

Words : 2039 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

It’s hard to find a perfect solution in this world; Harano can’t have it both ways. Ah Man repeatedly confirmed that Ah Qing had neither thought of marrying Harano as the main wife, nor was it possible for her to do so. In fact, that would be a burden for her. The next morning, after waking up, Harano secretly observed Ah Qing’s expression several more times and discovered that she was just as usual—with no trace of sorrow or hurt—so he gave up his indecision. In this era, the world is still quite friendly to someone "above others" like him. Everyone tacitly assumes he should have multiple women—a main wife plus several concubines, and even a dozen maids for good measure, ideally producing offspring in the house every day. Since there was no longer an emotional factor, if he weighed things from a purely utilitarian or power-development perspective, then rapidly recovering his own strength and continuing to grow naturally should take top priority. After all, back when Harano was reading and taking notes at Takeshige Manor, he had imagined changing history, trying to prevent many tragedies, and had even started to scheme against Toyotomi Hideyoshi—the "monkey." But those days, he had a different mindset and very little power, so he could only play minor tricks, digging a few pits for the monkey. Now, he finally had a territory that truly belonged to him, plus many loyal subordinates. He was beginning to feel that some of his past plans had a real chance of being realized, and he was willing to put in the effort to make it happen. Compared to preventing disasters that could kill tens of thousands or even millions, neither his personal feelings nor the "status" that Ah Qing didn’t care much about seemed to matter at all. Besides, this shouldn’t really count as harming that unfamiliar little girl—the Princess Dog—either. Before being stranded in this era, other than Aichi, he’d never heard that Oda Nobunaga had any younger sisters. Most likely, in history, the Princess Dog was also married off as a political pawn early in Oda Nobunaga’s rise, given to some Owari noble, and probably got wiped out together with her family early on. Otherwise, her original husband—as one of Nobunaga’s vassals—should have left some mark in the annals of Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s household. If she marries into his household, maybe the Princess Dog can live a much longer life. As for offspring, that’s a matter for much further down the line. It’s too hard to predict—he can take a few years to see how things go. Anyway, the Princess Dog is only eleven, even younger than Ah Qing. Even after marrying, he can only look after her—just as Ah Man said, they’ll get along if they can, and if not, he can set her up in comfort; spending a bit more doesn’t matter. Once Harano worked through these thoughts and felt he could bluff his own conscience, he stopped hemming and hawing when meeting Niwa Nagahide and Maeda Toshie that day. He straightforwardly agreed to the two families’ suggestion of a marriage alliance and both sides began formal "negotiations." While showing them around the New Wanjin Battlefield, Harano clarified his stance: he had already sworn alliance with the Imagawa family and was now within their sphere of influence. Until the Imagawa family completely withdrew from Chita County, he could not help Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s house attack the Imagawa family, but he was willing to promise that he would absolutely not help the Imagawa family attack Owari either. This was a matter of principle, and he had to make things clear upfront: he was not a vassal of Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s household. Niwa Nagahide was a little disappointed but accepted Harano’s promise not to become the Imagawa family’s Vanguard Officer. After that, Harano expressed his hope to restore his freedom of movement in Owari, so he could purchase raw materials as he wished and sell goods through Atsuta, Shimazu, Nagano Castle, and other places, sharing the wealth and convenience that trade routes would bring. Niwa Nagahide bargained enthusiastically with him, agreeing that Harano’s wishes could be met, but on condition that he would prioritize supplying certain goods—including gunpowder and iron cannon—to Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s household at prices at least fifty percent lower than market, and that the two families, now joined, must not attack each other. Moreover, if one side was attacked or had a rebellion in their territory, the other side was obligated to help—except for matters involving the Imagawa family or their affiliates, due to Harano’s oath. Oda Nobunaga and his father-in-law Saito Dosan currently had this kind of "allied relationship." For example, when the Yamaguchi Family defected from Oda Danjo Chonosuke’s household and the Imagawa family invaded en masse, Saito Dosan sent troops to Owari as a warning to the Imagawa to not go any further. Niwa Nagahide was basically following that model. After discussing again with Ah Man, Ah Qing, Endo Chiyoda, Maeshima Shichiro, and others, Harano bargained once more with Niwa Nagahide, confirmed the numbers of low-priced goods, raised the price to seventy percent of market, and recovered the property that had been confiscated at Wanjin. They then finally reached an agreement. Niwa Nagahide immediately sent Maeda Toshie to report directly to Oda Nobunaga. After receiving Nobunaga’s consent, the alliance was officially established. From then on, the two sides were allies; mutual support was required, and there was no need for excessive caution on either side. It was a two-way pact, to everyone’s satisfaction—Harano wanted to re-join the trade routes to accelerate development and avoid fiscal deficits; Oda Nobunaga wanted a stable supply of gunpowder long-term and to prevent Harano from launching surprise attacks on the Bai Chuan Pass line. Both got what they wanted. As for the Princess Dog, she was hardly mentioned in the negotiations; as long as both sides agreed to the marriage alliance, the specifics of the wedding could be discussed slowly. Even if something happened to her while the marriage was being prepared, it would not affect anything. Oda Nobunaga had more than one little sister; there were several more. It’s just that among the unattached ones, she was the oldest. If she died, he could always send another. ...... Qingzhou City was an ancient castle with more than a hundred years of history, first built in the twelfth year of Ōei (1405) by the Owari and Echizen Guardian Daimyo Shiba Yoshishige. Originally, it was constructed as a branch castle to Shimotsu Castle, the seat of the Owari Guardianship. In the eighth year of Bunmei (1476), Shimotsu Castle was destroyed by fire during an internal conflict in the Guardian Oda family. By the tenth year of Bunmei (1478), the guardianship relocated to Qingzhou, making Qingzhou City the administrative center of Owari Province’s Lower Four Prefectures. So this castle was very small at first; over the years, the Qingzhou Oda clan kept expanding it, resulting in an overall odd layout—with, aside from the usual four perimeter walls, an extra inner wall bisecting the castle into north and south towers of unequal size. In the past, the guardian Qingzhou Oda clan lived in the larger North Tower, while the refugee Shiba clan stayed in the South Tower. Both places had palace-style mansions—Qingzhou City, like Nagano Castle, didn’t have a Tenshu Tower at this point; only when Oda Nobunaga died at Honnoji Temple and his son Oda Nobuaki took over and further renovated Qingzhou City was a twin-moated main Tenshu, a small Tenshu, and book-style residence built. But now, the Qingzhou branch of the Oda clan was gone, and the Shiba clan was essentially extinct too. Both the north and south towers belonged to Oda Nobunaga, who lived in the North Tower with his personal attendants, while locking his mother, Lady Tsuchida, and his wife, Nongji, in the South Tower. Really locked in. Nongji still had a bit of freedom, but his mother wasn’t even allowed to step outside the palace gate. The Princess Dog, a concubine-born daughter who lost her mother early, naturally stayed with the main wife and eldest sister-in-law, and so counted as being locked up in the South Tower too. After all, with Oda Nobunaga’s temperament, he couldn’t be considered a good brother; he hardly paid attention to these half-sisters, simply leaving them there, only remembering them when a marriage alliance was needed. This year, she was eleven by Asian reckoning, currently curled up in her own side-hall pretending to be invisible, carefully sewing an undergarment to offer to her stepmother, Lady Tsuchida. Just then, her maids, Ah Zhong and Ah Xia, rushed in, looking flustered as they exclaimed, "Your Highness, something major has happened! We heard... we heard the Lord of Upper General has arranged your marriage—you’re going to be married off!" The Princess Dog was about to caution her maids to be more discreet, to not run around; but at that moment, she pricked her finger with the needle, suddenly feeling dizzy, the pain almost forgotten. When her elder sister, Ah Tun, got engaged, she’d already felt uneasy herself, but she hadn’t thought her turn would come so fast—barely two months had passed, and it was already her turn. She hadn’t even had her tooth-blackening ceremony yet, theoretically not considered an adult, far too young for marriage. She spaced out for some time before coming to her senses, gently biting her lower lip and cautiously asking, "Is it true? To whom?" "I heard it’s that cloth merchant’s family." Ah Zhong never left the house and could only pick up rumors—by the time the gossip reached her, it was eighth-hand news, so she hurried back without figuring out the details. "Seems it’s the Nozawa family?" While speaking, she looked at Ah Xia, who quickly nodded, "Yes, that family. It should be that family’s head, Lord Nozawa Saburou." Speaking of cloth merchants, the Princess Dog immediately remembered who they were. About a year ago, back in Nagano Castle, a new kind of cloth with dazzling colors and rare hues started to become fashionable—many patterns were unique treasures. The household had bought some, and the clothing made from them was indeed beautiful, much more luxurious than ordinary cloth. Of course, as a "nobody," she didn’t get any herself; she’d just secretly admired them back then. She really hadn’t expected she’d end up marrying into the cloth merchant’s family... After thinking for a while, she softly asked, "Nozawa family? Where is the Nozawa family? Are they in Nagano Castle?" Ah Zhong and Ah Xia exchanged glances, hesitantly replying, "Seems to be in a place called Wanjin..." "Where is Wanjin?" Ah Zhong and Ah Xia exchanged another glance and both shook their heads. They didn’t have much access to information beyond the palace walls; they’d grown up with the Princess Dog and only ever taken care of her, so if she didn’t know, neither did they. The Princess Dog bit her lip again, hesitated, and carefully asked, "And he...what kind of person is he?" Ah Zhong and Ah Xia hesitated but said nothing. According to the rumors they’d heard, Nozawa Saburou had a terrible reputation—said to be greedy, lecherous, a vagabond who came to Owari to make a living through trickery and cunning. Judging by more than a few gossip sessions they’d overheard among the samurai and household maids, Nozawa Saburou really was that sort of man, perhaps only marginally better than a criminal, and even then only barely. The Princess Dog didn’t get a reply, but the three of them had grown up together; just one look at the maids’ expressions, and she could pretty much guess the truth. Instantly, her delicate face took on a sorrowful look. She really did have a hard life: her mother had passed away young, her wet nurse Lady Ah Shang had died of illness the previous year, leaving her all alone, eking out her days in this miserable household—now about to be married off to an even more miserable family. She could only think herself terribly unlucky. She could only hope he was, at the very least, not a man rotten to the core! She bowed her head, eyes turning slightly red—this was all she could hope for.

Chapter 223 - 156: Hope, at least he’s not a completely rotten person!

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