48 Hours a Day

As he wiped the sweat off his brow, Gabriel attempted to persuade Zhang Heng again. On the other hand, someone walked up to the maid and whispered a few words to her.

In the end, the maid said, “You can bring your wakizashi with you, but you must leave your katana here.”

Zhang Heng knew that it was the most significant compromise the other party was willing to make. He did not want to ruin this trip tonight because of this incident-his goal —to meet the person behind this whole thing. So he nodded and agreed to the opposing party’s request. However, instead of handing over the katana to the maid, Zhang Heng planted it in the courtyard. “Don’t move it. I will retrieve it when I leave.”

The maid did not object to Zhang Heng’s instruction, merely bowing again. “A very warm welcome, to our distinguished guests of Ukichi. Please, allow me to make up for the disrespect.”

Without so much as waiting for Zhang Heng’s reply, she pulled out a tanto from her waist and turned to stab her chest. It happened so quickly that Gabriel did not even realize what was going on. The tip of the tanto had pierced the maid’s delicate skin and was on its way to her heart. However, at this critical moment, a scabbard blocked the tanto.

“Don’t do it. I have forgiven you,” replied Zhang Heng earnestly.

And Gabriel, standing beside Zhang Heng, was taken aback by what he saw. To him, they were a bunch of lunatics that were about to commit an inconceivable act in front of him. While he was persuading Zhang Heng earlier, he thought that the maid should have minded her own business. Now, he was even more horrified by the maid’s inordinate method to redeem herself.

It was just a small mistake. No, it was not even a mistake. The maid was only performing her duty and was following the rules. Stabbing herself was unnecessary. In utter disbelief, Gabriel shook his head repeatedly.

Zhang Heng knew very well that the people in this tea house were probably not just samurai. They could be bushi. Only men like them could be so cavalier towards life—not only the lives of others but also their own lives. “Please come with me.” Although an unpleasant incident had happened earlier, the lady boss still kept her expression unchanged and led them. By then, Zhang Heng had already put away his wakizashi and followed behind the boss as if nothing had happened between them. Gabriel was bewildered, but he trailed them anyway after a while.

The lady boss then opened the shoji for them, where, already, some people were sitting in there. Most of them were samurai, and some geishas were accompanying them. One was playing the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument, another two danced, and the rest poured wine for the guests.

Seeing Gabriel walking into the room, one of the older samurai and some other samurais stood up to welcome him, and at the same time, took the opportunity to introduce him to the rest of the room. On the other hand, Zhang Heng took a quick look at the many samurai sitting in the room, and it seemed Kirino Toshiaki wasn’t present. To his surprise, he met someone he knew there.

It was Shinji Takeuchi.

The latter had gone to Akane’s dojo with Yamada to challenge her. After Yamada’s hand was cut off, Zhang Heng thought Takeuchi would stand up and avenge his companion, but he did not expect that Takeuchi would claim that he was weaker than him. So, he carried Yamada and left the dojo-the reason why Zhang Heng remembered him.

Takeuchi’s expression suddenly changed upon seeing Zhang Heng. He seemed to be taken by surprise that the latter would appear here tonight. But in the end, he managed to squeeze a smile and a nod at Zhang Heng.

“Takeuchi, do you know each other?” the older samurai asked as they curiously witnessed the scene.

“We met once.” The smile on Takeuchi’s face was somewhat forced. The Koyama Dojo incident was so embarrassing that he wanted to tell nobody about it. After the brief introduction, Zhang Heng roughly figured the identities of the group of people in the room. Most samurai were from the Choshu and Satsuma domains, but Matsuo and Takahashi weren’t among them. Zhang Heng guessed that their clearance level was probably not high enough; hence they could not participate in the banquet.

Zhang Heng did not forget the task he was supposed to be doing here. After taking a seat, he translated the samurai’s questions to Gabriel, and in return, each of Gabriel’s answers to them. However, at this point, both parties were discussing pointless niceties, including Gabriel’s impression of Kyoto, France’s current situation, and that of other European countries. The elder samurai apologized to Gabriel, saying that he would have to wait a while before the important person arrived. Gabriel nodded to express his understanding.

Many Japanese of that era had begun to study the West and had put more effort into understanding the world. The shogunate was no longer as hostile to Westerners as the early emperors and barbarian sects. Instead, they were starting to compete with the shogunate for the support of the western powers. This also caused the shogunate led by Tokugawa Yoshinobu to become more and more anxious.

But these things had nothing to do with Zhang Heng. The two parties chatted for a while, and the dishes were served at the table one after another.

During the Edo period, the only meat available in Japan was fish and poultry. However, the ruling class valued fish with little fat. The shogunate also issued regulations that no one was allowed to consume any living beings with four legs. Hence, the people began dumping their sick cows and horses in the wasteland-it was no absolute law, though. Pregnant women and patients were allowed some venison and pork.

Unfortunately, the law did little stop the food connoisseurs from eating the meat. Although the law was in place, people from all over the country were secretly eating and enjoying the contraband. The place where meat was sold was called the ‘monster house,’ where meat sellers typically announced they were selling medicine. It was said that the shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, had a serious liking toward pork.

Most samurai here tonight were individuals keen to learn from the West. Hence, they did mind those taboos, and to welcome Gabriel, a visitor from the distant west, the tea house prepared a red-leaf pot for him.

The so-called red-leaf pot’ was a secret code for venison-meat pot. Normally served with tofu, meatballs, and green vegetables, it was prevalent in Kyoto, and the dish looked so good that it made many drool over it. Coupled with the beautiful ladies around him, Gabriel felt that his presence was immensely valued.

The older samurai stretched out his hand and smiled. “Please, enjoy!”

Gabriel grabbed the chopsticks awkwardly. He then asked a question before eating, “Should we not wait for the master to come first?”

“It’s okay; I was told that we could start eating first,” the older samurai replied with a smile. “As for that business, it’s not too late to talk about it later.”

“If that’s the case, I shall help myself then.”